UFC president Dana White believes bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili has a severe choice to make about his profession.
After setting a document for takedown makes an attempt within the UFC Struggle Night time 221 predominant occasion at The Theater at Virgin Accommodations in Las Vegas, Dvalishvili received a dominant unanimous choice over former champion Petr Yan. Getting into the battle at No. 2 within the USA TODAY SPORTS/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings, Dvalishvili solely had one man forward of him, and that’s his finest buddy and predominant coaching companion, the champ Aljamain Sterling.
Contemplating his dominant show and his rating within the division, the following cease for many fighters could be a shot on the title. However for Dvalishvili, there’s a little bit of a predicament, as a result of he and his buddy Sterling have an settlement to not battle one another.
White, who has seen this situation play out a number of occasions previously, says that Dvalishvili ought to rethink that association.
“I don’t keep in mind who the hell I used to be speaking to the opposite day about this, and I used to be like, ‘Yeah, we don’t must cope with that bullsh*t anymore,’” White instructed reporters throughout a information convention Saturday. “, again within the early days, the camps have been so small, you didn’t have numerous totally different choices. So, we had numerous these guys saying, ‘Oh, he’s my buddy, he’s my buddy.’
“You may nonetheless be pals and wish what your buddy has, what I imply? It will be a extremely dangerous concept for Merab to go down that path.”
As White touched on, there have been a variety of situations previously when pals are heading on a collision course, however refuse to battle one another for the promotion’s championship.
From Anderson Silva refusing to battle Lyoto Machida, Daniel Cormier saying he would change divisions moderately than battle Cain Velasquez, or Kamaru Usman stating he would moderately there be two African champions than one when requested if he would problem Israel Adesanya – pals have created pacts regardless of how a lot the followers or the promotion desires to see them battle one another.
Sterling has repeatedly said he is not going to battle Dvalishvili in an effort to forestall ruining their friendship. At UFC 288, Sterling will look to defend his title in opposition to the returning former champ Henry Cejudo. A transfer to featherweight could possibly be on the horizon for Sterling afterward, though that’s not a choice set in stone.
Dvalishvili stated he desires to remain lively and there are different fights he might take, however above all, combating Sterling is off the desk. Regardless of the scenario, the Georgian fighter sees two finest pals on the prime of the division as “a very good downside to have,” however White disagrees.
“Does Merab desire a shot on the title or would Merab moderately have individuals underneath him bounce over him, and him must tackle all these totally different powerful guys, when he’s not getting a title shot when he’s subsequent in line for it?” White stated. “That’s a private choice that he must make. If that’s what he desires to do, I can inform you how that story ends, and it’s not a very good ending to that story. He’s a giant boy, he can determine that out on his personal.”
