Merab Dvalishvili wants to humble ‘cocky’ Sean O’Malley: ‘Don’t be surprised if I knock him out’

Merab Dvalishvili understands how the game works.

MMA is a sport that’s built on wins and losses almost as much as popularity and hype. Some fighters like UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley find fame quicker than most and those athletes get a bigger push from a promotion like the UFC while others have to work twice as hard to get noticed.

Put Dvalishvili into that latter category after he had to rattle off 10 wins in a...