Bantamweight King Holds Chips in Title Fight Negotiations

Merab Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) is only a few weeks removed from making a successful defense of the UFC Bantamweight Championship at UFC 316 in Newark, NJ from Prudential Center. On the night of June 7, Dvalishvili made the trek to the east coast of the United States of America for his latest defense of the strap at 135 lbs.

In the final UFC pay-per-view event of the spring season, Dvalishvili stopped Sean O’Malley (18-3, 1 NC MMA, 10-3, 1 NC UFC) with a third-round submission (north south choke) with 18 seconds left on the clock for his second defense of the bantamweight championship. While it’s been less than 30 days since that win for Merab Dvalishvili, the UFC isn’t keen on…