When Merab Dvalishvili channeled his inner ‘Terminator’ at UFC 306 and dominated Sean O’Malley to capture the bantamweight crown, few could have predicted any form of camaraderie between the two. Their lead-up to the title clash last September was marked by tension, trash talk, and a noticeably frosty dynamic. In the Octagon, the Georgian put on a suffocating performance, overwhelming and ultimately humbling the flamboyant ‘Suga’ to seize the 135-pound throne. But in a surprising twist, the rivalry seems to have thawed. Despite their hostile history, Dvalishvili and O’Malley appear to have buried the hatchet—and are now on friendly terms.
And it seems the duo have developed a newfound respect for each other since their historic ‘Sphere’ clash. They ran into each other at the UFC Performance Institute earlier this month and even hung out together in the jacuzzi ahead of their June, UFC 316 rematch. And Dvalishvili, recounting his tune-in with O’Malley, was pretty complimentary of the rainbow-haired sniper before proudly boasting about how he took everything from ‘Suga’.
“That was so cool [hanging out with Sean O’Malley at the UFC PI] like you said the whole [thing was] positive and, you know, I always liked the guy. Like I don’t follow many 135ers on Instagram and I follow him and he’s funny, he’s cute, and he’s a good fighter, too,” ‘The Machine’ told Ariel Helwani on the latter’s podcast.
“Other than you’re talking stupid about my friend Aljamain Sterling… Yeah, it was cool. I actually feel bad for this guy. I stole his jacket, I stole his belt and I stole his fans, and, you know, I make him humble. Like he’s different guy now and that’s good, isn’t it? Good for him and good for me… life is good, God is good, and I am grateful for everything,” he added.
(More to follow)
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