Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili will finally lock horns in the main event of UFC 306 this Saturday at Sphere in Las Vegas for the UFC bantamweight title. O’Malley is already ascending to becoming one of the top stars in the company, and if he wins, the rockets will likely be strapped to him on the way to superstardom. Will the same happen with Dvalishvili if he wins?
On an all-new edition of Between the Links, On an all-new edition of Between the Links, On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel discuses the highly anticipated main event between O’Malley and Dvalishvili, where the winner goes, and what it does for their respective careers. Additionally, topics may include the expectations for the UFC’s one-and-done at Sphere, if they can be reached, the co-main event between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, Sean Brady and Usman Nurmagomedov’s big wins at UFC Vegas 97 and Bellator San Diego, and more.
Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and Morning Kombat’s Luke Thomas.
Watch the show live at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT in the video above.
If you missed the show live, you can still watch above, or listen to the podcast version, which can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your pods.
Social media influencer IShowSpeed is on tour in the Philippines and recently booked an impromptu sparring match with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. Things started off playfully enough, before “Speed” took a few extra liberties with his body shots.
“Pac Man” responded in kind and IShowSpeed was planked in short order.
Pacquiao, now 45, is an eight-division world champion with twelve world titles to his credit. Despite his age and deteriorating skill set, the former Senator is still participating in boxing exhibition bouts, brawling with former K-1 champion Rukiya Anpo at the Super RIZIN 3 event last July in Japan.
“He retired for a minute to run for President of the Philippines, where he took a respectful third place,” MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons told ESPN earlier this year. “And after that he felt that his retirement was due to running for president, and now that [he wasn’t elected], he wants to fight again and feels like he can do it at the highest level.
“Manny is an all-time great and he feels like he still has a lot of fight left in him and he still wants to compete at the highest level. And this fight [vs. Conor Benn] was presented to him by Eddie Hearn, and he agreed. Ball is in Eddie Hearn’s court. Pacquiao is ready to go.”
Merab Dvalishvili promises emotions aren’t getting the better of him ahead of UFC 306.
In the days and weeks leading up to his first ever shot at gold in the UFC, Dvalishvili has taken aim at both Sean O’Malley and his head coach Tim Welch while going as far as vowing to dish out a beatdown if he saw them in public. While his grudge against Welch went deeper than any single comment made, Dvalishvili explained on Wednesday that his biggest beef with O’Malley really came down to a post he made on social media.
In that instance, O’Malley dropped a message on Twitter saying “Are all Georgians runts?” while tagging Dvalishvili and UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, who both hail from the tiny Eastern European country. That insult didn’t sit well with Dvalishvili and he was admittedly irate at the time.
“It’s not personal,” Dvalishvili said during UFC 306 media day. “This is a professional fight. This is for a UFC belt. This is for legacy. Yes, I was mad about him a couple of times. I was very mad when he mentioned my country in a disrespectful way. Because my country, it’s more than religion for me. I have my country [in my heart], that’s why I start fighting. Because I want to represent my country.
“This is a healthy competition. That’s all we do. Then when somebody, it doesn’t matter who, disrespects your family or your country, you have to be mad. If you are a man, you have to be mad and I wanted to smack his face that time.”
Despite his ill feelings towards O’Malley in that moment, Dvalisvhili says he’s setting his emotions to the side to concentrate on the fight because ultimately that’s all that matters.
As much as O’Malley’s comments about Georgia angered him, the 33-year-old bantamweight contender knows that he needs to be devoid of emotions come Saturday night.
Dvalishvili won’t let O’Malley’s words rattle him ahead of the biggest fight of his career but he’s willing to chat with his rival afterwards to settle whatever grievances they may still share.
“Now I have an even more important thing to beat him Saturday night and grab his belt, take his belt and I can talk after the fight,” Dvalishvili said. “Maybe I can forgive him or we can just talk.
“I’m going to keep it that way. I want to just win and show him he has to be humble and he has to respect everybody. Now today how I feel, it’s nothing personal, it’s just professional.”
Ray Longo, a longtime coach for UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili, has hit back at some comments recently made by Dana White.
Dvalishvili is set to ride a 10-fight winning run into his first title challenge this weekend, which comes in the main event of the highly anticipated Noche UFC 306 pay-per-view at the Sphere.
While the overall card has had its critics, the headliner between the Georgian contender and reigning champion Sean O’Malley has created significant intrigue and drawn a variety of predictions.
There was a time a few weeks ago, however, when some feared for the matchup’s place on the card after Dvalishvili revealed a deep-looking cut sustained in training on social media.
“The Machine’s” decision to publicly display the cut caused debate, with the UFC CEO being among those unimpressed by Dvalishvili’s antics.
“The whole world knows about Merab’s cut. He posted it. Our guys are so dumb, it’s next-level unbelievable,” White said during a DWCS press conference. “All the stuff I talk about boxing, what I will give boxing, is when something happens in a camp, man, let me tell you what, it does not leak. Our guys can’t f*cking wait to throw it up on social media.
“It’s a small cut. It’s no big deal. But obviously, it needed to be posted,” White continued. “Why the f*ck would you want him to know that? It is next-level stupid. Some of these guys are so stupid it’s mind-boggling. It’s unbelievable.”
After Aljamain Sterling leapt to Dvalishvili’s defense and branded White’s reaction “over the top,” coach Longo has now shared a similar sentiment.
Longo On Dvalishvili’s Cut: ‘One Thing Dana Was Really Wrong On…’
During a recent interview with Kevin Iole, Longo looked ahead to Dvalishvili’s long-awaited first opportunity to reach the mountaintop in the UFC.
The veteran trainer was asked about the cut suffered by the Georgian in training, which became one of the hottest topics in the lead-up to Noche UFC 306.
Longo dismissed the importance of revealing such a blemish to an opponent like O’Malley, and he strongly pushed back on White’s reaction to “The Machine’s” social media activity.
“I’m not the social media guy, so I don’t get it. But you have to expect this sh*t with these kids today. They film everything. They film tying their shoelaces,” Longo said. “He’s been a camera guy since the second I met him. He’s crazy with the camera. But look, if it was a knee injury, I’d say that would be a problem. Now you’re gonna target something. (But) he’s gonna get cut in the fight. It is what it is. He’s gonna get punched in the face. … A cut’s a cut, and if it opens up, I don’t think it’ll have an impact on the fight.
“One thing Dana was really wrong on was he called him a dummy. He’s far from a dummy,” Longo continued. “(Dvalishvili’s) very intelligent. He’s a humble guy, got humble beginnings. He’s fighting for his country. There’s certain guys that that type of sh*t means a lot. He’s one of them. He’s (O’Malley’s) gonna have to beat this kid dead, that I guarantee you.”
Dvalishvili will look to display a different type of intelligence come fight night in Las Vegas on Saturday by using his fight IQ to secure a memorable title crowning inside the Sphere.
His opportunity to do so comes in the final fight of the 10-fight lineup, on which he’ll mark the second championship challenger to make the walk after Valentina Shevchenko’s attempt to achieve two-time status at Alexa Grasso’s expense.
While “The Machine” trains in Las Vegas with John Wood these days, he’s still expected to have the likes of coach Longo and teammate Sterling in his corner this weekend.
An unexpected media day run in! #UFC306
[ @RiyadhSeason #NocheUFC LIVE from @SphereVegas ] pic.twitter.com/81p8Cfqbhe
— UFC (@ufc) September 10, 2024
Read More: Noche UFC 306: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili Staff Predictions
Continue Reading Coach Ray Longo Pushes Back On Dana White’s Criticism Of Merab Dvalishvili: ‘He’s Far From A Dummy…’ at MMA News.
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