WATCH: Georgian Merab Dvalishvili TRIGGERED after rival Henry Cejudo trash talks in Russian

Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo's hilarious in-shape UFC 298 official face-off shows quite a bizzare exchange.

WATCH: Georgian Merab Dvalishvili TRIGGERED after rival Henry Cejudo trash talks in Russian

Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo have a tantalizing but hilarious face-off at the ceremonial weigh-ins (Source: Instagram)

UFC 298 is on the 11th hour of taking shape. With the official UFC 298 fighter weigh-ins done and over with, the hype is through the roof. In the main event, featherweight champ, Alexander Volkanovski meets cocky challenger, Ilia Topuria. Barring the title contention matter, Merab Dvalishvili vs. rebound bantamweight Henry Cejudo on the main card holds just as much gravitas.

On-stage footage of the official ceremonial weigh-ins has already gone viral. In the case of the ‘The Machine’ rising to face off ‘Triple C’ things got extra interesting. The video shows Cejudo ranting in another language, which Dvalishvili opposes. The hilarious exchange goes – 

[Henry]: [speaks in Russian]
[Merab]: Hey I'm Georgian, I don't speak Russian... 
[Henry]: You’re going to...Saturday night 
[Merab]: I'll talk in Spanish, okay.
YouTube video

While the Olympian and the triggered challenger get into a heated disposition of their own, no physical altercation takes place. The whole instance comes off as hilarious more than anything else. 135lber Merab Dvalishvili does ring true to being the funny-man of the division, even aspiring to snatch rival Henry Cejudo’s coach after controversial firing on camera. The new footage proves as much.

FS Video

Even at the weigh-in, the Georgian combat Sambo practitioner let out a last wild warcry at scale. UFC wrestling prodigy Cejudo weighed in at 135lbs exactly. Dvalishvili, who jostles on to face him and move on to the title contention scene, weighed in the same. UFC 298 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes shape at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

What’s at stake for Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo at UFC 298?

UFC 298’s staked card takes place at Honda Center in Anaheim. In nearby Irvine, Calif. the ceremonial weigh-in face-offs took place that saw fighters in their last staredowns before the matchups. UFC face-offs are an integral part of any bout; so is the actual fight and the journey to it.

With Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo, it begs the question – what is at stake for both?

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo for UFC 298
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo for UFC 298 (Source: Twiter)

Former champion, Cejudo rebounds from a title skid to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288. Concurrently, he has been hinting at a possible retirement if he fails to capitalize against Dvalishvili. He doubled down on his retirement at UFC 298’s Fight Week pre-fight presser yet again.

Dvalishvili, who last bagged a lopsided win over Petr Yan in March, is on an all-time high. Riding on a 9-fight win streak, the Georgian hopes to capitalize on his momentum against titleholder Sean O’Malley.

Time and again, CEO, Dana White had ripped the pair of bantamweight (Sterling and Dvalishvili) on avoiding facing each other. Merab Dvalishvili happens to be the former champion’s sparring partner. He had naturally refrained from title contention lest Sterling should come knocking for a rematch.

But with Sterling debuting as a 145lber soon at UFC 300, head coach Ray Longo recently appeared on the ‘Anik & Florian Podcast‘ Ep#466 and sniped that Dvalishvili hasn’t been offered the top contenders spot just yet. So, such accusations of ducking Sterling run moot.

With Sterling out of the picture, the burden naturally comes down to Dvalishvili and Cejudo. Come this Saturday, only time will tell who rises to the challenge.

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