“I’m going to cut it off,” said Merab Dvalishvili, revealing an injured toe just weeks before his title defense against Sean O’ Malley at UFC 316. At this point, maybe Dana White should confiscate The Machine’s phone before fight week. Why? This is the third time the 34-year-old has publicized an injury ahead of a major bout—first before facing Sean O’Malley at UFC 306, then in his initial clash with Umar Nurmagomedov, and now again. Is UFC 316 in jeopardy? Not quite. Dvalishvili has since broken his silence with a promising update.
Always ready to overshare, the bantamweight champion uploaded a video on his social media showing off his injured toe and asked his training partner Cameron Sandoval, “Why did you break my toe, my friend?” To which Sandoval replied, “That was you—you kicked me in the head and broke your toe. That was your fault.” This video caught the ire of the fans, who called out Dvalishvili for his irresponsible behaviour. Well, guilty as charged, ‘The Machine’ in his recent Instagram video has come forward to clear the air around his injury.
Running down a steep slope, Merab Dvalishvili greeted his audience on social media and assured everyone that he is not injured at all and the fight will go on as planned. “Let’s go, New Jersey! I’m coming June 7th—and still! Suga, you better show up, and let’s show people a good fight. No excuse from you, no excuse from me. And people, I promise you, you’re gonna have a great time, a good fight. I’m coming—I’m healthy, I’m ready, I’m hungry. Life is good.”
Well, even if The Machine is truly injured, it is certain that he will still show up. Why? Let’s take a look at his past record. Ahead of his fight against Sean O’Malley at UFC 306, Dvalishvili suffered a severe cut above his left eye during training. He shared this information on social media, which even drew backlash from the UFC CEO, Dana White. Despite that injury, he fought and emerged victorious. It must be noted that Dvalishvili did injure his right eye this time, but it’s not that serious.
Ahead of his UFC 311 title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov, Merab Dvalishvili revealed that he suffered deep cuts on his shin after hitting gym bleachers, which led to a staph infection. The injury was so severe that, according to John Wood, “regular people would have probably had their leg amputated.” Despite that serious injury, he fought and won against Nurmagomedov.
The Georgian fighter rarely pulls out of his fights, and after his recent announcement, it is certain that he will make a strong comeback to defend his title again at UFC 316. Interestingly, O’Malley might be the favourite underdog to retain his title. Why? Well, let us have a look at what Joe Rogan had to say.
Sean O’Malley’s focus ahead of Merab Dvalishvili fight appreciated by Joe Rogan
After UFC CEO Dana White announced the highly anticipated rematch between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, the former champion stated in a conversation that he would limit his social media presence and all other distractions to focus on his UFC 316 title fight. Well, his decision didn’t go unnoticed as Joe Rogan has come forward to appreciate O’Malley’s decision to limit his screentime.
While having a conversation with Aaron Rodgers on his Podcast, Rogan highlighted, “Merab rematch with Suga Sean, that’s an interesting fight. A very interesting fight. I don’t know how Suga Sean keeps that guy off him. But I like what he’s been doing — he got off social media, stopped s—— w—, and just dialed the f— in. He also got his hip fixed, which was a big problem. There are a lot of fighters who take fights because it’s a lot of money and a big event, and they don’t want to cancel.”
The 30-year-old underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip after his loss to Merab, and taking to his YouTube channel, he remarked that he was “going to come back better than ever.”
Sean O’Malley does post on his Instagram handle, but the frequency of his posts has significantly decreased. In addition, there’s limited bantering from the fighter, as it seems his loss against The Machine has seriously humbled him. Given that, what are your thoughts on their fight? State your opinion in the comments below.
The post “No Excuse From Me”- Merab Dvalishvili Drops Critical Injury Update With Bold Move for Sean O’Malley Fight at UFC 316 appeared first on EssentiallySports.
