UFC Hall of Famers Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen recently discussed Merab Dvalishvili’s title loss last weekend at UFC 323. Dvalishvili, making the fourth defense of his bantamweight championship in a year, joined Petr Yan in a rematch at UFC 323.
Despite not slowing down for five rounds, Yan hit more and knocked out Dvalishvili. Furthermore, ‘No Mercy’ has done everything it can to avoid as many takedowns as possible. After twenty-five minutes, Yan achieved a unanimous victory and ended the reign of the Georgians.
After the fight, Dvalishvili’s friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling discussed how the lack of adequate warm-up before the fight was a reason why ‘The Machine’ did not perform as he usually does.
For context, in the co-main event of UFC 323, Alexandre Pantoja dislocated his shoulder, and the fight ended in round 1. That’s why Merab Dvalishvili didn’t get enough warm-up before taking the walk according to his camp. While many fans may disagree, Chael Sonnen and ‘DC’ believe it is a legitimate statement that many will not understand. In a recent episode of ESPN’s Good guy/bad guy, Cormier said:
“Merab didn’t get the warm-up he wanted because the fight between Van and Pantoja ended early and they had to run much earlier than expected.”
Sonnen added:
“In the world of apology making, this goes right over people’s heads, and it’s actually a big deal.”
Check out Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen’s comments on Merab Dvalishvili below:
Kamaru Usman praises Merab Dvalishvili
Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman praised Merab Dvalishvili’s championship run and for being such an active champion. In a recent episode of Pounds 4 Pounds‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ said:
“You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. You did exactly what every champion should do… Once you become a champion, you have to step it up. And he did exactly that.”
Check out Kamaru Usman’s comments on Merab Dvalishvili below:
Dvalishvili claims the UFC has promised him a title rematch when he is ready. Even Petr Yan agrees that ‘The Machine’ is one of the few champions who deserves a rematch.
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