Merab Dvalishvili News
Ilia Topuria may corner Merab Dvalishvili for UFC 311 title fight
Harry Kettle - January 10, 2025
UFC star Ilia Topuira could end up being in the corner of Merab Dvalishvili for his title fight at UFC 311 next weekend. Right now, Ilia Topuria is one of the biggest stars in all of mixed martial arts. He is the UFC featherweight champion, he’s built up a huge name for himself, and last year he knocked out both Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. If that isn’t impressive, we truly don’t know what is.
Merab Dvalishvili tipped to become bantamweight GOAT by coach
Harry Kettle - January 7, 2025
UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili has been tipped to become the greatest bantamweight all of time sooner rather than later. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili is the current king of the bantamweight division. We also know that 135 pounds is one of the most competitive weight classes in all of mixed martial arts, and that’s been the case for a long time now in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As a result of that, we haven’t really seen too many people dominate the division in comparison to others.
Umar Nurmagomedov's coach responds to Merab Dvalishvili claiming UFC 311 title fight is undeserved
Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 5, 2025
Umar Nurmagomedov’s coach doesn’t understand why Merab Dvalishvili feels his fighter doesn’t deserve his UFC 311 title fight. Nurmagomedov is scheduled to challenge Dvalishvili for the UFC Bantamweight Championship on January 18th. It’ll Nurmagomedov’s first crack at UFC gold. He earned the title opportunity after defeating Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision back in August 2024.
Sean O’Malley reveals who he prefers to win UFC 311 title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov
Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 5, 2025
Sean O’Malley has a preference for who he wants the UFC bantamweight champion to be when he’s ready to return. O’Malley lost the 135-pound gold to Merab Dvalishvili back in September. The “Suga” show was outworked by his opponent, who effectively utilized his grappling to get the better of the now former bantamweight ruler. O’Malley was defeated via unanimous decision inside The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Merab Dvalishvili reveals wild plans for next year: "I want to be busy in 2025!"
Josh Evanoff - December 30, 2024
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili wants to be very, very, very active next year. ‘The Machine’ last appeared in the octagon in September, in the main event of Noche UFC. There, Merab Dvalishvili finally got his crack at bantamweight gold, against the hard-hitting Sean O’Malley. Ultimately, the wrestler largely controlled ‘Sugar’, winning the bout by unanimous decision after five rounds of action.
Merab Dvalishvili compares himself to Mike Tyson and Jon Jones ahead of UFC 311
Harry Kettle - December 30, 2024
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has made some big comparisons ahead of his next fight at UFC 311 Following his win over Sean O’Malley, Merab Dvalishvili is now the UFC bantamweight champion. His dominant triumph impressed the masses and, of course, welcomed a lot of intrigue from the rest of the bantamweight division.
Top UFC title contender picks Umar Nurmagomedov to dethrone Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311: 'People don’t really realize just how fast that guy is'
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 19, 2024
One top-ranked UFC bantamweight doesn’t believe Merab Dvalishvili will get past Umar Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili will put the 135-pound gold at stake when he meets Nurmagomedov at the UFC 311 pay-per-view on January 18th. The bout will be held inside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA. It’ll be the UFC 311 co-main event. Nurmagomedov is hoping to secure UFC gold before his teammate Islam Makhachev defends his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan in the main event.
Aljamain Sterling vents frustration over Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov fight booking
Cole Shelton - December 18, 2024
Aljamain Sterling is frustrated with how Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov was made. Dvalishvili is set to defend his bantamweight title for the first time in the co-main event of UFC 311 against Nurmagomedov. It’s the fight many fans wanted to see, but Sterling doesn’t like how the bout was made on short notice.
Former UFC star backs Merab Dvalishvili following UFC 310 fan altercation: 'Keep to your f*cking self, bro'
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 10, 2024
One former UFC star is on Merab Dvalishvili’s side when it comes to fan altercations. Dvalishvili was in attendance for UFC 310 in support of Aljamain Sterling. After Sterling dropped a unanimous decision to Movsar Evloev, Dvalishvili got physical with a fan in the crowd. The bantamweight champion has since claimed the fan in question was a plant set up by Umar Nurmagomedov and his team.
Merab Dvalishvili reveals story behind fan scuffle at UFC 310
Harry Kettle - December 9, 2024
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has revealed his side of the story behind a scuffle he had with a fan at UFC 310. Last weekend at UFC 310, Merab Dvalishvili was in the corner of Aljamain Sterling for his fight against Movsar Evloev. While it was a close and competitive affair, Sterling ultimately came up on the wrong end of a decision defeat. However, that wasn’t the end of the story for Merab that evening.
Dana White reacts after Merab Dvalishvili gets into another altercation with a fan at UFC 310: “He's my mini Sean Strickland without the mouth”
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 8, 2024
Dana White has reacted to Merab Dvalishvili’s latest incident with a fan. Dvalishvili was in attendance for UFC 310 in support of his teammate Aljamain Sterling. On the preliminary portion of the card, Sterling dropped a unanimous decision to Movsar Evloev in a competitive fight. Dvalishvili ended up getting physical with a fan in the stands, something that has become common for the reigning UFC bantamweight champion.
Sean O’Malley takes aim at former opponents Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili after UFC 310
Harry Kettle - December 8, 2024
UFC star Sean O’Malley has taken a shot at former opponents Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili following UFC 310. As was the case for most of us last night, Sean O’Malley was watching closely during a really fascinating UFC 310 pay-per-view event. It featured some notable moments for two of his rivals, too, with Aljamain Sterling losing to Movsar Evloev and Merab Dvalishvili getting involved in a fight with a fan in the crowd.
WATCH | Merab Dvalishvili confronts Umar Nurmagomedov backstage at UFC 310 weigh-ins
Josh Evanoff - December 6, 2024
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili nearly came to blows with Umar Nurmagomedov earlier today. ‘The Machine’ and ‘Young Eagle’ finally had their long-awaited clash finalized earlier this week. Despite talk of Merab Dvalishvili rematching Petr Yan or Sean O’Malley, he instead signed a deal to face Umar Nurmagomedov. The Russian famously earned a title opportunity with a unanimous decision victory over Cory Sandhagen in August.
Dana White announces two major title fights for UFC 311: Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan and Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 5, 2024
UFC 311 will be getting two major title fights. Dana White, UFC CEO, recently took to social media to drop some major news on his promotion’s first pay-per-view event of 2025. In the main event of UFC 311, Islam Makhachev will put his lightweight championship at stake against Arman Tsarukyan.
Merab Dvalishvili claims Umar Nurmagomedov is not on his "level," tells him to "earn" his title shot: "He has beat who?"
Cole Shelton - November 27, 2024
Merab Dvalishvili continues to take aim at Umar Nurmagomedov saying he doesn’t deserve a title shot. Dvalishvili is looking to get his first title defense of his bantamweight belt booked. With nothing made official, the champion took to social media to send a message to the division and took aim at Nurmagomedov.
Sean O’Malley reacts to Merab Dvalishvili’s recent callout of Petr Yan: “Merab is absolutely s***ing himself terrified of Umar”
Harry Kettle - November 26, 2024
Sean O’Malley doesn’t believe that Merab Dvalishvili is overly interested in the idea of fighting Umar Nurmagomedov. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili is the rightful UFC bantamweight champion. He defeated Sean O’Malley to claim the belt for the first time and ever since then, fans have been wondering who he’ll defend against first. Some have suggested an O’Malley rematch, whereas others believe Umar Nurmagomedov and Petr Yan are the top two contenders – especially after the latter’s win over Deiveson Figueiredo last weekend.
Merab Dvalishvili challenges Petr Yan to rematch at March’s UFC 313 event in Las Vegas: “LFG!”
Harry Kettle - November 25, 2024
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has challenged Petr Yan to a rematch at UFC 313 in March 2025. Last weekend, Petr Yan made a statement. He defeated Deiveson Figueiredo and in doing so, put himself firmly back in the title picture at bantamweight. Of course, as many people know, he’s fought Merab Dvalishvili before. On that occasion, Dvalishvili was able to totally control Yan with his relentless pace and style, earning a fantastic and dominant victory in the process.
Umar Nurmagomedov says reported Song Yadong fight is canceled, reacts to Merab Dvalishvili's "Scared" comments
Curtis Calhoun - October 25, 2024
UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov didn’t take long to respond to Merab Dvalishvili’s recent outburst at a fan Q+A event. Nurmagomedov is the presumptive No. 1 bantamweight contender after defeating Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi earlier this year. The undefeated Dagestani seemed destined to face Dvalishvili following the latter’s title win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306.