Dana White: ’Really Bad Idea’ for Merab Dvalishvili to Avoid Fighting Aljamain Sterling

Even after securing the signature victory of his career to date, Merab Dvalishvili made one thing clear: He has no interest in fighting friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling.

“Whenever [Sterling] decides to go up in weight class … I will fight for the title,” Dvalishvili said in the Octagon following a win over Petr Yan in the UFC Fight Night 221 headliner. “Of course I want to be champion, and now I [proved] it again … I am hungry.”

In most cases, Dvalishvili’s performance against Yan would solidify him as the bantamweight division’s No. 1 contender. However, Sterling still reigns atop the division, though that could change following his scheduled clash with Henry Cejudo in the UFC 288 main event. If Sterling defends the crown, Dvalishvili might have to explore other options.

However, UFC president Dana White doesn’t think it’s in Dvalishvil’s best interest to avoid a fight with Sterling.

“You know, back in the early days, the camps were so small, you didn’t have a lot of different options. So, we had a lot of these guys saying, ‘Oh, he’s my friend, he’s my friend.’ You can still be friends and want what your friend has, you know what I mean?” White said at a post-fight press conference following the Power Slap 1 finale. “It would be a really bad idea for Merab to go down that path.”

After his win over Yan, Dvalishvili floated the possibility of moving to flyweight if Sterling continues to reign at 135 pounds.

“It will be a tough cut, but it’s possible,” Dvalishvili said at the UFC Fight Night 221 post-fight press conference. “Right now, I’m comfortable at 135, and I don’t want to make any changes right now. It’s possible, because I cut only 20 pounds. I do my old style where I don’t do hot tub, I don’t water load, I just do my thing, and I make weight. It’s possible for me to make 125, but I don’t see why I should do it now.

“I’ll fight anybody. I want to be busy and I will fight anybody,” he continued. “Whoever UFC chooses me to fight. I don’t have any problem. This is a good problem to have – to best friends and teammates. My best friend is champion, and I’m one of the top [fighters]. We are cleaning the division. That’s a good feeling.”

White, meanwhile, warned that waiting might not pay off for Dvalishvili in the long run.

“Does Merab want a shot at the title or would Merab rather have people under him jump over him, and him have to take on all these different tough guys, when he’s not getting a title shot when he’s next in line for it?” White said. “That’s a personal decision that he needs to make. If that’s what he wants to do, I can tell you how that story ends, and it’s not a good ending to that story. He’s a big boy, he can figure that out on his own.”