Merab Dvalishvili’s training camp for Sean O’Malley didn’t go according to plan.
The UFC Bantamweight Champion is 15 days out from his title rematch with Sean O’Malley at UFC 316 and fans are starting to worry if Merab Dvalishvili will make it to the Octagon.
Dvalishvili is currently riding a stellar 12-fight win streak and already has a win over O’Malley, dethroning the champion by unanimous decision at the Sphere last September.
Looking to go 2-0 against ‘The Sugar Show’ in New Jersey, Dvalishvili sustained a brutal cut under his eye earlier this month but that seems to be the least of his problems after his latest injury.
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Merab Dvalishvili broke his toe in a recent training session
On Friday, Dvalishvili was sparring with undefeated prospect Cameron Sandoval and apparently broke his pinky toe on a head kick.
Dvalishvili filmed the aftermath, showing the swollen pinky toe on his right foot.
“Why you break my toe, my friend?” Dvalishvili asked his teammate Sandoval.
“That was you, you kicked me in the head and broke your toe. That’s just wrong,” Sandoval replied.
Dvalishvili joked about taking drastic measures to make sure his title fight with O’Malley stays intact.
“It’s okay… I’m gonna cut it off,” Dvalishvili said of his broken toe.
Conor McGregor pulled out of his last fight due to the same injury
As you might recall, Conor McGregor suffered a broken pinky toe in the lead-up to his comeback fight last summer.
McGregor was supposed to face Michael Chandler in the main event of UFC 303 three years after he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. However, a week from the event, McGregor withdrew due to the toe injury.
‘The Notorious’ had never pulled out of a fight before, citing he would not make the walk ‘hindered’ again and that he’d be ‘100% Conor McGregor’ his next time out.
A ‘Machine’ inside and out of the training room, it doesn’t look like Merab Dvalishvili will let this injury slow him down or keep him out of his fight against Sean O’Malley at UFC 316, though it does cause some concern.