‘Headliner Of Bulls—!’

Sean O’Malley puts his 135 pound title on the line against Marlon Vera at UFC 299 on March 9th. No. 2 ranked bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili is not impressed with that matchmaking.

Merab Dvalishvili isn’t surprised that the UFC passed him over to fight Sean O’Malley, going instead for a rematch between O’Malley and Marlon “Chito” Vera for UFC 299. That doesn’t mean he isn’t bothered by the snub.

In a new interview with MMA Junkie, “The Machine” discussed the bantamweight title picture, how O’Malley is running scared from him, and his upcoming fight with Henry Cejudo.

“I knew before they were making this [O’Malley vs. Vera] fight,” he said. “I feel very disappointed. Chito Vera doesn’t deserve this fight. He’s 1-1. Cory Sandhagen beat him. Jose Aldo beat him. I beat Jose Aldo. I’m No. 1 contender for the title or they should give rematch to Aljamain Sterling.”

“This is what it is. I guess it’s numbers now – number-wise and money-wise fight.”

O’Malley won the 135 pound strap by knocking out Dvalishvili’s friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August. That was a bad stylistic matchup for “Suga,” and Merab thinks he’s even worse.

“I think I’m a bad stylistic matchup for him,” Dvalishvili said. “In my opinion, I can beat him because styles make fights. I think that’s what they’re thinking too. I think they want to keep him longest, because it’s not a secret. O’Malley makes money. O’Malley is a big number. If I beat O’Malley, who is going to sell pay-per-views? I think it’s how it goes. I understand. That’s why UFC is great. They’re smart.”

“For competition and what’s right, I think I should fight him. If I’m big numbers or good money, I don’t know what to say.”

Instead, Merab will have to fight another top bantamweight contender in “Triple C” Henry Cejudo. While there were rumors the two might throw down January in Toronto, Dvalishvili says the timeline is looking more like February. In his mind, Cejudo is the toughest bout for him out there.

“Stylistically, the ‘Chito’ Vera fight, for me, is easy. Stylistically, O’Malley fight for me is easy,” he said. “Henry Cejudo is tough but I’m going to do everything to beat him and win against him. That’s why I’m just focused on this.”