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Merab Dvalishvili received a direct message from Spanish soccer legend Sergio Ramos following Georgia's historic Euro 2024 qualification.
Georgia hosted Greece at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers on March 26. After a close and tense goalless draw, the match went to a penalty shootout, where Georgia prevailed 4–2.
Following the win, Ramos congratulated Dvalishvili on the UFC fighter's home nation's qualification for Euro 2024. Giorgi Kokiashvili, an MMA reporter at Setanta Sports, posted a screenshot of Ramos' text in which the Spaniard replied to the Georgian's Instagram story.
''Yeeeesss. Congrats bro.''
As seen in the aforementioned post, Ramos had also congratulated Dvalishvili following his victory over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298, writing:
''Congratulations bro. I'm very happy for you. Great. Well done.''
Dvalishvili dominated Cejudo for the entire three rounds, winning the bout via unanimous decision and extending his win streak to 10 fights.
Dvalishvilli, who was the backup fighter for the title bout between the current champion Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera in the main event of UFC 299 earlier this month, was present cage-side to witness O'Malley's commanding performance as he successfully defended his title.
However, 'The Machine' was disappointed when O'Malley challenged Ilia Topuria rather than recognizing him as the top contender in their division. Dvalishvili approached 'Sugar' with congratulations but was treated with apathy, escalating their conflict.
In an interview that followed the bout, the Georgian fighter stated his disappointment, stressing that he had expected a simple handshake and acknowledgment, which O'Malley had not given him.
Cory Sandhagen weighs in on possible Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili fight
Many have called for Merab Dvalishvili to be granted a title shot, and he is most likely Sean O'Malley's next opponent in what looks to be one of the most exciting fights in the bantamweight division.
It appears that Dvalishvili may finally have a chance to win UFC gold, as O'Malley recently stated that the Georgian will be his next championship defense.
In a recent interview with James Lynch, No.3-ranked bantamweight Cory Sandhagen shared his thoughts on a potential fight between Dvalishvili and O'Malley:
''If I was Merab, I would try to stick him to the mat and keep him there and then if I was O'Malley, I would like use that first minute of each round to really do what he did to Sterling and pinpoint and missile this guy from from afar. So I can see O'Malley winning.''
Check out Cory Sandhagen's comments below (0:45):
