Outside Source
Dvalishvili (21-5) put his bantamweight title on the line against Petr Yan at UFC 323 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Yan (20-5) put on a takedown defense clinic and outclassed Dvalishvili on the feet to earn an upset win.
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With Dvalishvili having defended his title three this year, a rematch with Yan seems reasonabole. However, Wood isn’t absolutely confident. In addition to external factors like injuries, Wood also believes that the UFC like to push certain fighters like Sean O’Malley. Wood believes “Suga” is always one knockout away from a title shot, regardless of his place in the rankings. However, Wood certainly believes that Dvalishvili deserves an immediate rematch and is more than likely to get it.
Aware of All Possibilities
“The UFC has their favorites,” Wood told Submission Radio. “The UFC has people that they want to push and they love. And Sean O’Malley is one of those guys. Sean O’Malley is always one win away from a title shot, no matter how far down the rankings. He could be unranked, go out there, knock somebody out, get a title shot. And that’s great for him. He’s marketed himself well, he’s a great fighter… Do I see that there’s a way that happens that we don’t get the immediate reshot? Of course. Do I think we should? Yes. Do I think we will? More than likely. But who knows.”
Yan said Dvalishvili should rematch Umar Nurmagomedov to decide the next title contender. After initially losing his title to Aljamain Sterling in 2021, Yan also had to go through Cory Sandhagen to earn a title rematch.
Meanwhile, O’Malley (18-3) lost his title to Dvalishvili last year and failed to reclaim it in the rematch earlier this year. O’Malley is now scheduled to fight Yadong Song (22-8) at UFC 324 on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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