Dana White blasts Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili for REFUSING to fight due to close friendship… with UFC bantamweight stars bizarrely lobbying for each other to get title shot
- Former champion Aljamain Sterling and friend Merab Dvalishvili refuse to fight
- They mutually decide to put friendship first, much to Dana White’s chagrin
- UFC president said: ‘This is about finding out who the best in the world is’
UFC president Dana White has blasted Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling’s refusal to fight each other out of friendship.
The pair, who have been training partners for years, have long let it be known that they will not cross paths in the octagon.
Sterling had hoped he could move up a weight class by beating Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, thereby allowing No 1 contender Dvalishvili the chance to step up and fight for the vacant belt.
But O’Malley won the contest with a stunning finish, muddying the waters at bantamweight further with Sterling keen on a rematch.
The situation is frustrating White, who said: ‘Everybody in this room, and everyone watching knows how I feel about this s—t.
Dana White is frustrated that Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili do not want to fight
The Georgian (left) and American (right) are close friends and refuse to lock horns
‘I hate it. Why did you even get into this sport? If that’s your mentality and the way that you think: ‘I don’t want the title, I don’t want the championship, we’re friends, we’re this, we’re that.’
‘This is not about friendship. This is about finding out who the best in the world is, and if you don’t want to find out who the best in the world is, this is not the place for you.
‘You should be somewhere else. There’s plenty of places to fight where they don’t give a s—t what you do. It doesn’t work here.’
Dvalishvili is on a nine-fight winning streak and is the obvious next contender for the new champion.
But he is actively campaigning for Sterling to be given a rematch, rather than chasing the opportunity himself.
It is a surprising act of friendship and one that clearly riles White, who wants the best to fight the best at all times.
And Sterling said on his Weekly Skraps podcast: ‘All jokes aside, I think if I don’t get the immediate rematch — if they were to offer me that immediate rematch for December, I’m just going to have to respectfully decline; but if they were to do it early next year like January or February, I would accept it in a heartbeat.
Sean O’Malley is the new champion after knocking out Sterling in the main event of UFC 292
‘But if I’m not going to get the rematch, the next guy in line has to be Merab Dvalishvili.
‘Has to be. No. 1 contender. I don’t think any other matchup makes more sense than him.’
It will be fascinating to see how the UFC match-up both Sterling and his team-mate in the months ahead as they aim to keep interest in the bantamweight division alive with their new champion on top of the pile.
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