Merab Dvalishvili seemingly breaks toe weeks away from Sean O'Malley rematch, fans react: "Dana's punching air rn"

Merab Dvalishvili recently suffered a toe injury weeks ahead of his much-anticipated rematch against Sean O'Malley.

After defeating Umar Nurmagomedov, 'The Machine' is scheduled to defend his belt against O'Malley at UFC 316 at the Prudential Center in Newark, on June 7. Their initial outing at UFC 306 witnessed 'Suga' failing to retain his bantamweight championship against Dvalishvili.

Two weeks away from the fight, the bantamweight champion had seemingly injured his toe during sparring. On his training partner's Instagram Stories, Dvalishvili said:

"Why did you break my toe? It's okay, I'm gonna cut it off."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below:

Fans took to the comments section of the post re-uploaded by Championship Rounds on X to share their reactions, with one writing:

"Dana [White's] punching air rn."

Others wrote:

"Can he stop with this bro, I'm going to this card."

"He will never pull out. I’m convinced."

"Conor [McGregor] pulled out because of this type of injury."

"Guess he can look forward to foot stomps. Great work Merab."

Check out more fan reactions below:

Fan comments. [Screenshots courtesy: @ChampRDS on X]

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Sean O'Malley's coach previews rematch against Merab Dvalishvili

Sean O'Malley's coach, Tim Welch, recently shared his perspective on 'Suga's' rematch against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316. Claiming that the former champion is in peak physical condition, Welch seems confident in retaining the belt this time around.

He also predicted to secure a finish in their rematch. Speaking to ESPN MMA, he said:

"The shape he's in right now, it's hard for me not to bet that Sean's going to TKO him. He's going to find his chin at some point. If Merab takes a shot at the wrong time, Sean's reactions are so good that he could be sleeping. So I'm thinking he's gonna TKO him."

Check out Tim Welch's comments below (15:10):