Dvalishvili called ‘coward,’ ‘b—h’ after withdrawing from Russian reality show

Merab Dvalishvili has withdrawn from his coaching gig on the ‘Russian TUF’ show Hype Reality, leaving some angry people to scramble last-minute and save the show from collapsing.

News came out earlier this week that the UFC bantamweight champion would coach opposite former champ Petr Yan in the third season of Hype Reality. Season two featured Arman Tsarukyan and Khamzat Chimaev as coaches, so the program is no stranger to having top UFC names participating.

But tensions between Georgia and Russia continue to be extremely high two months after a controversial election in Dvalishvili’s home country that some say were swayed by Russian interference. Marches and protests in the streets are ongoing, and “The Machine” received a lot of anger from people in his home country for participating in a Russian show.

According to Hype Reality head Alfredo Auditore, Dvalishvili pulled out of the show at the last minute, leaving them in a lurch.

“Very bad news – UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili will not be the captain of our reality show,” Auditore wrote in a statement. “Everything fell through at the last moment. Tickets had already been bought, and that’s how it happened. Now we are urgently looking for a replacement, and words simply cannot describe the damage that has been done to the promotion. Because this is the most expensive reality show. I have invested much more in it than before.”

That was the politically correct statement from Hype Reality. On the other side of the spectrum was this video from someone else on the Hype Reality team repeatedly calling Merab Dvalishvili a b—h.

“Hey Merab, this is the hall you could have been in if you weren’t such a coward and a b—h,” a man said as he toured the Hype Reality filming location. “This is the kitchen where you could cook yourself breakfast if you weren’t such a b—h … This is the terrace where you could do your morning exercises if you weren’t such a b—h. This is the pool where you could swim … if you weren’t such a b—h.”

Dvalishvili hasn’t made an official statement on his withdrawal from the show, but we expect he’ll have a lot to say about the situation given his reaction to past disrespect.