Merab Dvalishvili left fans confused and concerned during his post-fight interview at UFC 311.
The bantamweight champion showed off his incredible cardio to outpoint Umar Nurmagomedov, break Georges St-Pierre’s takedown record, and defend his title for the first time at the Intuit Dome in California on Saturday night.
Merab Dvalishvili‘s run at the top of MMA appears to just be getting started, but he also seems to be looking ahead to retirement.
‘The Machine’ made a wild comment to Joe Rogan that left fight fans worried about the 135lb champion’s fighting future.
Merab Dvalishvili to retire?
As soon as the UFC judges of his fight, whcih included former MMA star Chris Leben, scored the fight 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 in his favor, Dvalishvili charged over to UFC boss Dana White to thank him for eveything he’s done for his career.
Evenutally, he spoke with Rogan about the fight and injury issues before referencing retirement.
“I’m so proud of myself.” Dvalishvili said.
“I can retire today and I can die happy.
“And one more time, my country, I love you, Georgia! America, I love you too!”
UFC fans were left confused by Dvalishvili’s ‘retire’ comment, with some of them wondering if they had just witnessed the Georgian fighter competing inside the Octagon for the last time.
One fan said: “Did Merab just retire? Lmao.”
Another asked: “Did Merab just retire?”
-A third person wondered: “Did Merab just f***ing retire???? Or was that a figure of speech?”
Someone else commented: “Merab didn’t just retire did he????”
Dana White suggests Sean O’Malley title shot
Dvalishvili made it look easy when he outpointed Sean O’Malley to become a champion at UFC 306 last September.
‘Suga’ is currently healing up from hip surgery, but he could return in a title fight later this year.
Ahead of UFC 311, Dana White upset fans by suggesting Dvalishvili vs O’Malley II could be next.
“I think he’s gonna be watching this fight closely and could possibly fight the winner,” the UFC boss said when questioned about O’Malley during an interview with Jim Rome.
White was then asked how quickly O’Malley’s comeback fight could come together.
He added: “We’ll see. I don’t know how Saturday is going to play out yet.”
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