Will Merab Dvalishvili Get Sued?
Merab Dvalishvili risks getting sued after pulling the hair of a spectator at the Craig Jones Invitational grappling tournament.
That is according to Sean O’Malley. Merab reacted after a heckler got on his nerves. The following clip shows Merab jumping over a barrier as he makes his way to the heckler. As he does so, the heckler looks uncomfortable. Merab pulls his hair before walking away. The situation could have escalated and become worse, given Merab is a UFC fighter. As of now, there is nothing to suggest that Dvalishvili is being sued or will face any punishment.
Merab Reacts
This is vital since O’Malley will face him on September 14. The pair headline on Mexican Independence Day during The Sphere’s first combat sports event. The event is expected to break the UFC live gate record set by Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor at UFC 205 in 2016 at $17.7 million. The card also goes up against Canelo Alvarez’s fight with Edgar Berlanga.
O’Malley is in impressive form as he beat Marlon Vera at UFC 299 in his last bout. He avenged his sole loss in the UFC. Meanwhile, Merab has ten wins on the spin. He defeated Henry Cejudo in his last fight at UFC 298. O’Malley will hope there are no ramifications that could delay this fight.
“Merab had a little freakout. This is what I heard: someone said ‘Suga’s your daddy!’ or something like that. So Merab climbs this three-foot fence, gets stuck damn near trying to get over, tries to jump over the other fence, and walks up there with his sassy hips and pulls his hair.
“That kid could sue him, 100 percent. You’re not allowed to physically touch someone else in public, that’s illegal…If that kid sued him, lawyer fees, lawyer this and lawyer that, it’s stressful. So if that kid decided to sue him right now, Merab might not make it to the fight…we’re in his head, so keep poking at him,” O’Malley said
Other Incidents
Similar incidents have resulted in a punishment. Arman Tsarukyan was given a ninth-month suspension for hitting out at a fan during his walkout for UFC 300. He then faced Charles Oliveira and beat him. That put him in contention for a title shot against UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev. However, he suffered a massive setback after the UFC banned him for nine months.
It is unclear if this will cost him a title shot in the long run. Islam has spoken about potentially moving up to chase another belt. Meanwhile, he has already beaten Tsarukyan in their previous encounter in 2019 via a unanimous decision. Despite his actions, Tsarukyan stated he would defend himself against any heckling.
“He showed me…and he wanted to punch me and I wanted to punch him back. That’s it. So guys, no one show me…It doesn’t matter who you are, I’m going to punch you in the face,” Tsarukyan stated
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