UFC legend explains why Merab Dvalishvili facing Sean O'Malley next is the best scenario for the bantamweight division

A repeat of the Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley fight from UFC 306 seems to be the direction the promotion has settled on. Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz believes this is the correct or most beneficial decision the UFC could take.

He said as much during a recent interview with The Schmo. According to Cruz, O'Malley's popularity on social media and his large following should translate into pay-per-view success. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili should be rewarded with a lucrative fight for his work in consistently facing top competition.

Cruz stated:

"It's good for the division with the way that people follow him and he's doing the homework outside of the fight, which is the podcast, the YouTube stuff. It really does brings a lot of eyes to him, so I think that brings eyes to the division as a whole. And Merab, obviously, with his fighting alone, steps up to the plate. The way that he's been consistently winning against the top competition in the division, pretty much cleaned it out. So he gets this money fight with O'Malley."

Check out Dominick Cruz's thoughts on Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2 (6:11):

Cruz reasoned that O'Malley's popularity would draw more eyes to the bantamweight division, which has never been a marquee weight class. However, how much O'Malley's image was hurt by his previous loss to Dvalishvili remains to be seen.

Moreover, O'Malley's inactivity since his loss to 'The Machine' doesn't bode well for any hope that he has made significant improvements to his cardio and defensive wrestling, as he will have to fend off Dvalishvili's relentless takedown game in a potential rematch.

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Merab Dvalishvili has beaten countless top bantamweights

At UFC 311, Merab Dvalishvili overcame the previously unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov. This, though, was nothing new to Dvalishvili, who has also beaten former UFC bantamweight champions like Sean O'Malley, Henry Cejudo, and Petr Yan.

Furthermore, he has also beaten the legendary José Aldo and former bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes. Dvalishvili is also at the helm of a 12-fight win streak and his star only seems to be rising further.