Merab Dvalishvili Prefers Late Stoppage to Early Intervention in His Matches

Winner of 10 straight in the talent-rich bantamweight division, Dvalishvili (17-4) will get a crack at the title held by Sean O'Malley (18-1, 1 NC) at UFC 306. While friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling held the strap from 2021 to 2023, the pathway is now open for the Georgian to pursue undisputed gold. He will try to do so in the main attraction of the card titled “Noche UFC,” which takes place on Sep. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

When Sterling was dethroned by O’Malley at UFC 292 in September, he immediately protested his knockout loss to referee Marc Goddard, proclaiming it was too early. Dvalishvili watched that result closely, and vows to prove that O’Malley “got lucky” putting away “Funk Master,” with a light touch from Goddard. “The Machine” told The Schmo on Sunday that he prefers his fight handled a bit differently.

“I’m going to beat Sean O'Malley,” Dvalishvili confidently stated, “and I’m going to show the MMA fans that he got lucky because he has referee Marc Goddard. Because Marc Goddard, we all know he likes to stop fights early.”

Dvalishvili claims he gives clear instructions to referees ahead of his fights, requesting that they let him get knocked or choked unconscious rather than risk an early stoppage. The Georgian contender explained that he needs no saving from the referee, as he goes in prepared to “die.” He proudly represents a similar but less severe mindset to Pride Fighting Championships pioneer Akira Shoji, who famously went so far as to clean his house and prepare his will prior to every match in case he did not survive.

“For example, even when I was fighting Marlon Moraes, I tell referee before, ‘Hey, I might get caught, but please don't stop fight. I’d rather go sleep, I’d rather go out, then stop me later, then don't stop me.’ And [Keith] Peterson, he's a good referee. He usually never stops early fighters. He gives fighters chance to fight. So, I tell him, ‘Hey, please let me fight until I die, until I go sleep.’… Doesn’t matter who I’m fighting, I tell referee, ‘I’d rather go out than you stop me early and save me. Save me from what? I’m here to die, I’m a fighter. I’d rather sleep, it’s okay,’” the 33-year-old called “The Machine” concluded.

Reference: https://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Merab-Dvalishvili-Prefers-Late-Stoppage-to-Early-Intervention-in-His-Matches-194477