Sean O'Malley Disputes Merab Dvalishvili's Claim Of Title Fight At Sphere-Held UFC 306

It's been assumed for a couple of months now that the next UFC bantamweight title fight will see Sean O'Malley defend against Merab Dvalishvili.

And just when we thought we had an answer was to when we'd see this fight, we're still left with uncertainty.

Following the broadcast of UFC 301 in India, Merab Dvalishvili, in the Ultimate Guide to UFC program, announced that he will challenge O'Malley at UFC 306, which will take place on September 14 at The Sphere in Las Vegas, NV.

Less than 24 hours after the post first made rounds on social media, however, O'Malley responded with a social media post of his own, claiming that Dvalishvili's announcement is not official.

O'Malley did say that he pushed for the idea, though.

Dvalishvili seemed like he earned the next shot at the UFC's 135-pound title following his performance in a win against Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 in February.

The Georgian is unbeaten since dropping his first two UFC fights. UFC CEO Dana White has previously suggested he passed on opportunities to fight for the title when his friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling was bantamweight champion.

O'Malley, meanwhile, won the championship with a victory over Sterling at UFC 292. He retained the title in a one-sided win over Marlon "Chito" Vera at UFC 299 this past March, avenging the sole loss of his professional MMA career.

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