Merab Dvalishivli was impressed, and even surprised, by Sean O’Malley’s UFC 299 performance.

The callout? Not so much.

Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who weighed in as the backup fighter the day prior, had a cageside seat as O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) dismantled rival Marlon Vera (23-9-1 MMA, 15-8 UFC) over five rounds Saturday at Kaseya Center to retain the UFC bantamweight title.

“I was a little bit surprised he made (the fight) even easier than I was expecting,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “He make even it a little more fun. I was expecting for him to win the decision, but not this one-sided. This fight, he dominated ‘Chito’ Vera and it was really one-sided. He didn’t give ‘Chito’ Vera any chance. He made it easy. I was a little bit surprised with this.”

After the decision was read, O’Malley had his callout ready for his in-cage interview with Joe Rogan. It was a Georgian, but not Dvalishivili.

“Dana (White), get me a jet to Spain, baby,” O’Malley said. “I’m coming for Ilia Topuria and if he doesn’t want it – ah, f*ck it. I want Ilia. Give me Ilia.”

Still peeved by O’Malley’s decision three days later, Dvalishvili tried to call O’Malley on his decision-making post-fight, but the champion blew him off.

Topuria and UFC CEO Dana White have since shot down O’Malley’s proposed idea.

“I was very surprised, like, ‘What is this guy doing?’” Dvalishvili said. “Just either be quiet or don’t call for somebody that isn’t going to fight you. This fight is not going to happen. Ilia is a great champion but he just won his belt. Now, the UFC is not going to let this fight happen because it’s the first title defense. Sean, it’s not like he cleaned the division or something. I was supposed to fight him for this fight but he called No. 6 guy, like, ‘OK, we all understand.’ Some people want to see this. UFC supported this fight. OK, we understand.

“But now let’s move on and fight me. Of course, I was very surprised. I was mad, actually, that he called me out, or that he called Ilia. But we all see UFC and Ilia don’t give a sh*t about this. … Somehow, he doesn’t like me and he doesn’t want to fight me. I don’t know. I don’t know. He’s smart guy. Maybe he sees some challenge from me. He’s just ignoring me since 2018.”

While he said he nor his manager Oren Hodak have talked to the UFC since Saturday’s event, Dvalishvili is confident he won’t be passed over. With O’Malley having just fought, and Dvalishvili having fought just three weeks prior to that, “The Machine” is OK with whatever timeline is offered.

“I’m not rushing,” Dvalishvili said.  “I don’t want to disrespect. I want the champion to have his own time, have his time, and take a vacation and enjoy with his belt. Whenever he decides to fight, I’m here. I’m always ready.”

Despite all of the build up, Dvalishvili holds O’Malley’s abilities in high regard – just not higher than his own. Regardless of how O’Malley performed Saturday, Dvalishvili is confident he’ll become “and new” whenever the two fight. His goal is to inspire a new generation through becoming the first Georgia-born UFC champion.

“I want to be a good example for young generations, even if you are a guy from a small country, a small village like I am,” Dvalishvili said. “I wasn’t any special talent or something. I just put hard work in and hard work has got me here. And everything is possible and they can dream, too, and everything will be possible, too.”