Merab Dvalishvili. Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Watch: Dana White calls Merab Dvalishvili his ‘mini Strickland’

By Aaron Case | Last updated Dec 9, 2024 12:33 AM ET

Merab Dvalishvili wasn’t at UFC 310 to fight, but he ended up getting a few punches in anyway. As he walked in with his pal Aljamain Sterling, The Machine stopped to exchange blows with a fan.

At the post-fight news conference, UFC President Dana White had the perfect reaction to Dvalishvili’s scuffle. Per a video posted by the UFC, White was asked whether the UFC would punish Davlishvili, and he responded.

“He’s my mini [Sean] Strickland—without the mouth. What do you do? … Listen, man, I say it all the time: we’re in the f--king fight business. This happens. We gotta deal with it.”

White was referencing the infamous skirmish between Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis in the stands at UFC 297. And the UFC boss's analogy might be more accurate than even he realized.

The “fan” Dvalishvili violently interacted with is allegedly connected to the Georgian’s next opponent. The Machine posted a video on Instagram claiming the audience member was the instigator and a member of Umar Nurmagomedov’s entourage.

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A post shared by Merab Dvalishvili (@merab.dvalishvili)

Audio from a video of the dustup supports Dvalishvili’s version of the events. Bystanders are heard accusing the audience member of instigating the fight and berating him for his inappropriate behavior.

Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili will settle their beef on Jan 18 at UFC 311. After a chippy pre-fight press conference on Friday and Dvalishvi’s clash with Nurmagomedov’s alleged proxy on Saturday, the fight promotion is off to a great start.

Maybe Dvalishvili can even team up with Strickland to create some perfectly ridiculous promotional content based on White’s comments. A little Austin Powers’ Mini-Me spoof with the two fighters is just what the internet needs.

Aaron Case

Aaron Case is a die hard Yankees fan from upstate New York who fuels his writing with too much coffee. When he's not riding the emotional roller coaster that is the MLB season, he's probably daydreaming and doodling or making beats. Follow him on X @AarontheCase1

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