In Sean O’Malley’s most recent jab at bantamweight competitor Merab Dvalishvili, he made reference to his UFC 288 jacket. During the confrontation between O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 earlier this month, Sean O’Malley removed his jacket inside the cage.
Merab Dvalishvili seized an opportunity during the confrontation and managed to get his hands on O’Malley’s jacket. Since then, the Georgian combatant has been jokingly boasting about taking O’Malley’s jacket.
Additionally, Merab Dvalishvili said that he intends to retain the jacket until his friend and teammate Sterling defeats O’Malley.
He stated this in his most recent interview with social media influencer and MMA star Nina-Marie Daniele: “Okay. How about this? I’m going to wear this (jacket) until ‘Aljo’ beat O’Malley…So, I’m keeping this jacket until ‘Aljo’ beats O’Malley…Maybe we should do collaboration — We should sell (the jacket), your Instagram, my Instagram. And we should put this post we are selling this jacket.”
He tweeted:
While Merab Dvalishvili is currently recuperating from a hand injury, he will not be back in action until the end of the year. His teammate and close friend Aljamain Sterling (the reigning UFC bantamweight champion) has a highly anticipated title defense scheduled against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 on August 19, 2023.
In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Sean O’Malley expressed his unwavering belief in his abilities to defeat Aljamain Sterling. While acknowledging Sterling’s unorthodox techniques, O’Malley claimed to be well-prepared to handle them.
O’Malley stated: “I’m gonna snipe this dude (Aljamain Sterling). … he’s very funky; he walks forward and throws some, you know, some weird sh*t, off-balance sh*t. And you know, I’m gonna be ready for that, and that’s where I’m gonna snipe him. I believe I have the tools to snipe him.”
O’Malley also roasted Dvalishvili properly on his podcast saying:
“Do you like my tweet ? That sucks though. Merab’s beat like good guys. He’s got a good career. No one gives a f**k. The most exciting thing that ever happened to him was me giving him my jacket to hold. And it’s like he’s run and he’s. He bought a replica. He’s wearing it. He’s trying to do as many interviews as he can.”