Veteran coach, John Wood is less than worried about an apparent toe fracture suffered by student, Merab Dvalishvili ahead of his UFC 316 title fight return next weekend against Sean O’Malley — insisting the Georgian star will fight regardless.
Dvalishvili, the current undisputed bantamweight champion, will return next weekend in the headliner of UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey — taking on arch-rival and former-foe, O’Malley in a rematch of their Noche UFC championship showdown in September of last year.
And in the time since, the Georgian grappling ace has cemented his status as undisputed champion, handing the unbeaten, Umar Nurmagomedov his first professional defeat in combat sports back in January, racking up a unanimous decision win at UFC 311 in their co-main event title clash.
However, always known for his all-out training regimes and preparation for fights, Tbilisi favorite, Dvalishvili put his return into jeopardy over the course of the weekend — appearing to laugh off a fractured toe just weeks out from his comeback.
Merab Dvalishvili set to fight at UFC 316 regardless of injury
But as far as his coach, Syndicate MMA leader, Wood is concerned, Dvalishvili will fight regardless of injuries — and has already suffered much worse setbacks en route to fights in the promotion.
“I’m sure he (Merab Dvalishvili) broke his toe, but like you don’t understand,” John Wood told Submission Radio during a recent interview. “Every camp and every fighter, even (Sean) O’Malley says it, everybody is banged up. There’s a level of injuries you go into fights with.
“That’s the way it is. That’s the way it’s going to be, and that’s the way it always is,” Wood continued. “It’s just one of those things, obviously, Merab likes to post about a little more than everybody else. It’s alright, though. He’s all good.”
