UFC fans panic as stitched-up Merab resurfaces with gruesome, Staph-like wound ahead of Sean O’Malley fight

Merab Dvalishvili is back in the headlines … for all the wrong reasons.

Not long after “The Machine” was sent to the shop for repairs, courtesy of a training camp cut that had UFC CEO Dana White blaring the trumpet of stupidity, the UFC 306 headliner was spotted with a gruesome, Staph-like infection on his arm with less than two weeks to go before his Sean O’Malley title fight on Sept. 14 at The Sphere.

Not surprisingly, fans on social media are starting to panic.

I’m not a doctor (and I don’t play one on TV) but this is the Internet and it’s not only our right, but our civic duty to make wild, uneducated assumptions about the injury in question. Dvalishvili still has to clear medicals before his five-round, bantamweight headliner gets the rubber stamp from Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

Here’s a recent training video with the injury on display:

Expect Dvalishvili to release another “It’s no big deal!” video in the coming days.

O’Malley has yet to comment on Merab’s injury but don’t be surprised to see a response on social media, where “Suga” routinely eviscerates his bantamweight foe. I’m sure the champ is not looking forward to Dvalishvili grabbing a neck or limb with that wonky arm. Hopefully everything is healed up by fight night.

If not, it might be time to make another call to Usman Nurmagomedov.