Merab Dvalishvili reveals real story behind confrontation with fan at Craig Jones Invitational: "I did bully him"

Merab Dvalishvili has shed light on the incident that led to his confrontation with a fan at the Craig Jones Invitational grappling tournament. The bantamweight contender, who is set to face Sean O'Malley at UFC 306, admitted to "bullying" the fan after he was repeatedly heckled during the event.

Dvalishvili revealed that the fan was taunting him with references to O'Malley. Despite repeated warnings, the fan continued to heckle the bantamweight, prompting Dvalishvili to jump the barrier and confront him.

While Dvalishvili acknowledged that he had crossed a line, he defended his actions, stating that he would not tolerate disrespect.

Speaking to Kevin Iole, 'The Machine' said:

“So I was there watching jiu jitsu enjoying and the only one guy of course he was uh screaming uh from the [stands], ‘Sean is your daddy Sean is your daddy’ and I turn around and I look to him in the eyes and I'm like shut up. and then he was laughing at me. and he was [pointing] at me and… and I I tell him [to] shut up. And and he [kept] going and I tell him [to] come here and say to my face… I gave him three warnings…"

He continued:

"He was joking [with me] i guess, with one of his friends and he disrespected me… Everybody respect me and this one guy, I’m not going to let him disrespect me… I told him to come and of course he’s not coming, he was laughing and I had to go. I tell him, ‘yeah, tell me now’... of course like I don't want to like hurt him. But I did bully him.”

Check out Merab Dvishvalli's comments below (8:09):

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Merab Dvalishvili thinks Deiveson Figueiredo deserves a title shot more than Umar Nurmagomedov

Merab Dvalishvili has dismissed Umar Nurmagomedov as a potential opponent for his first title defense, should he defeat Sean O'Malley at UFC 306. The Georgian fighter believes that Deiveson Figueiredo is more deserving of the next title shot after his impressive victory over Chito Vera.

Dvalishvili's comments come after Nurmagomedov's victory over Cory Sandhagen at UFC Fight Night 226. While many fans expected Nurmagomedov to be the next in line for a title shot, Dvalishvili believes that Figueiredo's recent success and his dominance over a former champion make him a more deserving contender.

Speaking to Helen Yee, Dvalishvili said:

"Umar won his fight, good for him. I want to focus on this O'Malley fight... After this, whoever the UFC decides will be next for a title shot I will fight. I think Figueiredo deserves it more [than Nurmagomedov] because he beat a former world champion. He dominated 'Chito'... He beat three top contenders."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below (15:30):