Merab Dvalishvili is good at grabbing attention online. Especially ahead of his upcoming title fight against Sean O’Malley. He did it again at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Georgian confronted a heckler and put the entire internet on the edge of their seat for a second. Here is what happened:
Merab Dvalishvili recently confronted a heckler during the Craig Jones Invitational event. The altercation occurred when a fan began shouting insults at Dvalishvili, who was in the VIP section. In response, Dvalishvili jumped over a barrier, rushed toward the heckler, and grabbed him by the hair before security intervened.
The confrontation de-escalated after Dvalishvili knocked the fan’s hat off. It was definitely a tense atmosphere for a second at the stands although the heckler was not in any sort of real danger. All this drama just farmed more attention toward Dvalishvili’s upcoming title fight against Sean O’Malley.
This September, the two top bantamweights will headline the main event at UFC 306. The event will be at the iconic Sphere in Las Vegas, in what UFC CEO Dana White has promised to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Reigning champion O’Malley is coming off a unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera and will make his second title defense.
Meanwhile, Dvalishvili earned this title shot with a 10-fight win streak, including victories over top contenders like Henry Cejudo and Petr Yan. It will be interesting to see if ‘The Machine’ can show the same dominance in the octagon this September that he displayed against the heckler at the stands.
Fans react to Merab Dvalishvili confronting heckler
Merab Dvalishvili’s recent stunt at the Craig Jones Invitational event caught the attention of fans on the internet. People went to the comment sections on social media to express their reactions and opinions on the incident. Here are some of the reactions from X:
Bro found out you can’t be a keyboard warrior IRL
Especially when you got bitch hair
— Chris Allison (@Chrisleealliso) August 17, 2024
Top tier security, stopping Merab after he could’ve done at least 15 takedown attempts on that dude.
— Brax Moore (@brax_moore_more) August 17, 2024
crazy thing about this is buddy can easily sue for assault and get some money out of this 😭
— 4KT WHO YOU HATE (@royal_bobby24) August 17, 2024
Congrats on the assault charge. Open and shut case here
— Chase (@Crdoman) August 17, 2024
Deport this fcking clown
— NOSE BLEEDERS (@NoseBleedersMMA) August 17, 2024
People had interesting reactions to the Georgian confronting the heckler. Many were happy that the troublemaker was taught a lesson. However, others accused the UFC fighter of assault. Nonetheless, the incident will keep Dvalishvili fresh in people’s minds ahead of UFC 306.
The event will be part of UFC’s “Noche UFC” series, which celebrates Mexican Independence Day. The fight kits for UFC 306 are inspired by Mexican heritage and Aztec mythology. This card also features other high-profile fights, including a co-main event trilogy between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.
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