Dana White, Merab Dvalishvili Critique Grind-It-Out Victory at UFC 278

There’s no question that Merab Dvalishvili is one of the top contenders in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division.

However, a grinding victory over Jose Aldo on the UFC 278 main card — his seventh straight at 135 pounds — didn’t do much to raise Dvalishvili’s stock in the eyes of the fans or the promotion. According to UFC president Dana White, the Serra-Longo Fight Team export didn’t make the most of his opportunity on Saturday night.

“First of all, I love Jose. I don’t want to s—t on Jose. But Jose had zero offense tonight. And Merab didn’t go after it like a guy that looks like he wants to fight for the title,” White said at the UFC 278 post-event press conference. “And when asked the question about his friend holding the title and what did he want to do, he never really answered the question.

“I always say this: We’re the bells and whistles guys. We lay it out there for him, we give him the opportunity to shine, and it’s up to you to get out there and do it. That didn’t happen tonight.”

Dvalishvili deserves at least some credit for limiting Aldo’s offense thanks to relentless forward pressure and an unyielding committment to his wrestling. While Aldo denied all 16 of his opponent’s takedown attempts, Dvalishvili’s approach kept the Brazilian on his heels for the majority of their three-round encounter. Nonetheless, Dvalishvili admitted that he wasn’t completely satisfied with his performance.

“Of course, I wanted a more exciting fight and I wanted to take him down,” Dvalishvili said at the post-fight press conference. “But he was good, and it was hard to time him and take him down. Against the cage, he was good. He was defending my takedown good. Also, I didn’t want to spend too much energy because I wanted to be ready for a strike. But this is the fight game. I kept it against the wall, and I was winning the fight comfortable. It’s his job to move and do something because I was winning the fight.”

While White wasn’t pleased with what he perceived to be a non-answer from Dvalishvili regarding a potential title shot, “The Machine” has been clear that he isn’t interested as long as teammate Aljamain Sterling is champion. He reiterated that sentiment on Saturday night, along with expressing confidence that there are plenty of interesting alternative options in the division.

“I believe there are so many fights left for me,” Dvalishvili said. “There are so many. Our division is the most exciting. There are so many young guys, former champions. Henry Cejudo is coming back. Actually, Aljo has to beat them – the former champions.

“Monday, I’ll be back in the gym helping Aljo. He helped me in this training camp in the gym, weight cut, everything. We have a big fight. Aljo is fighting for the title against a cheater, and we have to beat T.J. Dillashaw together.”

Regardless, White wanted to see a little more from Dvalishvili with so much on the line.

“When you’re on a card like this, the place is packed like this, and you want to make a statement in that division, you go for it,” White said. “And I get it – he’s fighting Jose Aldo, and whatever. I don’t think Merab did himself a lot of favors.”