Merab Dvalishvili calls Dana White’s bluff, requests $10,000,000,000 to fight teammate Aljamain Sterling

Surging UFC bantamweight contender, Merab Dvalishvili has called promotional president, Dana White’s bluff and rebuffed his warning of fighting teammate, Aljamain Sterling for the division title next – calling for a cool $10,000,000,000 payday to fight the Uniondale native.

Headlining against former undisputed bantamweight champion, Petr Yan last weekend at UFC Las Vegas, Merab Dvalishvili turned in a dominant, one-sided unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) victory over the Dudinka native – and off the back of the victory, has since minted himself as the number ranked contender at the bantamweight limit.

Leapfrogging both Yan and former number one ranked challenger, Sean O’Malley – Dvalishvili, who is the training partner of the above-mentioned champion, Sterling, knocked back calls for him to face his fellow Serra-Longo MMA mainstay next.

Officially confirmed to headline UFC 288 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey in May – Sterling will welcome former duel-weight champion, Henry Cejudo back to the Octagon following his 2020 retirement. 

However, Dvalishvili has claimed that he would reject a title fight offer to face teammate, Sterling in the future, leading to a rather stark warning from promotional president, White. 

“That’s a personal decision he (Merab Dvalishvili) needs to make,” Dana White explained. “If that’s what he wants to do, I can tell you how that story ends. It’s not a good ending to that story. But, he’s a big boy, he can figure that out on his own.”

“You can still be friends and want what your friend has,” Dana White said. “It would be a really bad idea for Merab to go down that path [avoiding Aljamain Sterling].” 

Merab Dvalishvili calls for cool payday to fight teammate Aljamain Sterling

Reacting to the warning issued by White, Georgian grappling ace, Dvalishvili has called for a whopping ten billion dollar payday to even consider fighting Sterling in the future. 

“I understand business and everything, but Aljamain Sterling is my friend and my brother,” Merav Dvalishvili told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “It’s all good. Aljo has a fight now. He’s fighting Henry Cejudo. I’m going to be back to the gym in about a week and I’m going to help him to prepare for Henry Cejudo. I think after that, he will beat up (Sean) O’Malley, and he said he’s planning to move up [to featherweight]. If he wants to do it, I will fight [for the bantamweight] title.”

“If they [the UFC] want me to fight Aljo, maybe they have to pay $10,000,000,000,” Merab Dvalishvili explained. “Then yes, I’ll be ready.”