Merab Dvalishvili: “World’s biggest bullsh*tter”

Dana White went against popular fan demand by booking Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2 for UFC 316. However, when asked to explain his logic at a press conference promoting the event, White was seemingly at a loss for words, sparking fan outrage on social media.

A clip of the moment was shared on X/Twitter by Jed I. Goodman. The question itself revolves around the fact that O’Malley just lost to Dvalishvili in their UFC 306 bantamweight title fight, and hasn’t fought since nor had a strong legacy as a champion to earn an immediate rematch. So, why did he?

“Um… this is the fight the people wanted to see.”

Check out Dana White’s explanation for booking Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2:

It was a bizarre explanation, especially as the UFC CEO fell silent for a few seconds after being asked the question. Dvalishvili has established himself as the dominant force at bantamweight, handing the well-rounded Umar Nurmagomedov his first-ever loss in an entertaining title defense.

O’Malley, though, has not done anything, and doesn’t appear to command the fans’ attention in a way to justify such a privilege. Fans on X/Twitter wasted no time in blasting White for his decision.

“This is sad and indicative of the state of the UFC. Wow”

Another fan joked that White was suffering from CTE.

“Lol, when did Dana get CTE?”

One fan described White as a fraudulent promoter.

“Ouch. Even the world’s biggest bullsh*tter was tongue tied”

Others pointed out how differently the fans felt compared to White.

“The people seem to disagree”

A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:

Regardless of fan sentiment, the matchup will proceed as the headliner of UFC 316, with the promotion able to take such decisions given the lack of strong market competition.

Dana White just witnessed Merab Dvalishili vs. Sean O’Malley 1

It comes as little surprise that Dana White and the UFC in general are in support of the idea of Sean O’Malley as bantamweight champion. He’s an exciting striker with a strong online fanbase. However, there is no indication that he can do much differently to defeat Dvalishvili given his performance at UFC 306.

Dvalishvili dominated the majority of the bout, outwrestling ‘Sugar’ to the point of exhaustion, like he does with everyone, to score a lopsided unanimous decision win.

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

About the author

” data-lazy=”https://keedag.sportskeeda.com/user-pic/837197-1716048655-200.jpg?w=200″
alt=”Ricardo Viagem” height=”72″ width=”72″>

Ricardo has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda for the past 2 years, having previously worked for The Sportster. In his time at Sportskeeda, the kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner has penned over 2000 articles, including five exclusive pieces, and raked in more than 4 million views. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.

Ricardo’s earliest memory of becoming an MMA fan dates back to 2009 when Lyoto Machida defeated Rashad Evans in the headlining bout of UFC 98. His Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters includes Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, and Alexander Volkanovski.

Ricardo aspires to be at the forefront of covering MMA soon by becoming a part of discussion panels that conduct pre-fight predictions, post-fight breakdowns, and fantasy fight breakdowns. His articles are supported by extensive research and double checking of information via multiple sources.

Beyond work, Ricardo likes to write and draw.

Know More

Edited by Ricardo Viagem