Champions Hold the Line: Dvalishvili’s Rising Bantamweight Reign

When we talk about the biggest UFC stars in recent memories, nobody starts with Merab Dvalishvili. These talks always start with Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall, Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Ilia Topuria, Khamzat Chimaev, or Islam Makachev. These are all great names in the universe of MMA, there’s no doubt about it. What we want to say is that the name of Merab Dvalishvili belongs in the same conversations. It is funny to see that one of the most dominant fighters of his generation is getting overlooked like that. 

The main reason got to be the fact that the Georgian fighter is not a flashy one. He is not a finisher, and we all know that the fans fall in love with those first. Also, the bantamweight division is not one of the most attractive ones in the UFC. None of it should be taken against Merab. The Machine, as he is nicknamed, earned every piece of praise coming his way. The reigning UFC Bantamweight Champion is a silent king, and we are not talking about his trash talk or media presence. Are you aware of the fact that he is the first ever Georgian born champion in the history of the UFC? You probably weren’t. Also, do you know that in the entire UFC he is the third ranked pound for pound fighter? 

Everything Merab does inside of the octagon is of the highest quality, and yet, the feeling is that his accomplishments are not talked about enough. What put Merab off the grid for many fans of MMA is the fact that his UFC career started on a bad foot. Many of us still remember him for his career start that kicked off with two consecutive defeats in the hands of unimpressive fighters such as Frankie Saenz and Ricky Simon. For Merab, those two fights were stepping stones, and necessary UFC lessons. It’s been years since his first UFC appearance, and after the second one, two defeats, he went on one of the most impressive runs in UFC history. At the moment his undefeated streak stands at 14 consecutive wins. 

The only fighters who have longer streaks than him at the moment are Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Islam Makachev, and Kaamaru Usman. Now, that’s some company to be a part of. The way Merab takes his preparation, and dominates the bantamweight division we can see his undefeated streak being extended in the not so distant future. It’s been a while since Stake odds had him as an underdog in a fight and we can’t see it happening anytime soon. Dvalishvili simply wants to turn the bantamweight division on its head, defeat every fighter available, defend his crown as many times as possible, before eventually moving on. 

Before the UFC 320, Merab Dvalishvili had an interview with Stake, and funnily enough, he talked about fighting once more this year, and defending his title again, even before he did it this time around. During the interview he said: ” I’m young, I’m hungry, I’m getting better, and I want to be busy. Right now, we have a clear contender in Petr Yan, he looked good in the last three fights, and he deserves a title shot.” After the performance and the show he put on against Cory Sandhagen, it was evident where Merab’s confidence comes from. When there’s a title on the line, Merab turns into a machine, and there’s no stopping him. 

At the moment there is no better fighter with a more reliable engine in the UFC. Dvalishvili is a fighter who relies on his cardio, and preparation, so when the stakes are the highest he takes little risks, and relies on what he does best. His style of fighting might be what’s keeping him from being the main talk in the MMA circles, as he rarely looks to finish the opponent, and aims at wins by submission and decision. The latter has become his trademark, the same way a stake.com ambassador Davido has his distinctive husky vocal style as a trademark. During his MMA career so far, Merab Dvalishvili has 21 wins, only 3 of which came via knockout, 2 by submission, and 16 were wins by decision. 

Merab’s hold on the bantamweight division is a strong one, a dominant one, and yet, fans hold his fighting style against him. After two defeats to start his UFC career many fans wanted him out of the company. Yet, Merab was not one to give up, and in no time, his style kicked in and was soon on one of the most impressive runs in the UFC. It took a while for him to get into the title contention. When you start your career with two defeats, and in the hands of Saenz and Simon no less, it takes you a while to get the trust of Dana White back. 

Merab Dvalishvili recorded his first UFC win during the UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik, where he took on Terrion White and won via unanimous decision. At that point it was already obvious that we will have a fighter that takes it all the way in every match, and that does everything possible to secure a win. The next four of his fights were also Fight Nights and unanimous decisions followed in each of his next three matches against Brad Katona, Casey Kenney, and Gustavo Lopez. It took a while for him to take the biggest stage, but it happened at UFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier 3 where he defeated John Dodson, before doing the same against Cody Stamann during one Fight NIght. 

Since the Stamann fight he only appeared at the UFC major events, and at one of those, the UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega, the Machine recorded his first ever UFC win via KO/TKO against Marlon Morales. After UFC 266 every fan of MMA started to wonder when the time would come for Merab to get his shot at the title. Yet, as we said, due to the way his career started, and the fact that his fighting style was not as impressive as with some of the other contenders, he had to wait a tad bit longer. It was funny to see how fans were unimpressed with a fighter who always put on a show and fought each round start to finish. Merab was not one to complain, and did only what he did best. 

In 2022, Merab went on one of the most impressive runs in the history of UFC. It all started with a bout against Jose Aldo at the UFC 278, and the former champ was yet another name taken via unanimous decision. For Merab, it was a sign that he can take on the best of the best, and the same way a stake.com ambassador Sergio Aguero was one of the best foreign players to ever greet the Premier League, Merab was at the time seen as one of the best to ever walk in the bantamweight division. In no time, the Machine started to take every fight put in front of him. Unanimous decisions followed one another, and after taking down Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo it was finally time for his first shot at the title. 

Merab Dvalishvili took home his first UFC Bantamweight Title at the UFC 306 which was an event he headlined together with Sean O’Malley at the Riyadh Season Noche UFC. As you can guess it was a tough encounter that Merab won via unanimous decision. It is a unique skill the Georgian fighter possesses, the fact that his engine is able to take him all the way regardless of who his opponent is. It was a close fought encounter and the judges had Merab winning it 49-46, 48-47, 48-47. 

It was a well deserved win, as Merab who the only way he knew how. The Georgian MMA star brought forth his high pace, focused on his high end wrestling, and did everything possible to neutralize the positive sides of Sean O’Malley’s style. Unlike O’Malley, Merab had a clear plan which was executed to perfection. He kept the action on the ground, and solely grinded toward a win. Many experts claimed that Merab has put more effort in this fight than he has in the 10 consecutive wins leading to it. Merab’s performance was so dominant that his win was described as Sean O’Malley’s suffocation. 

After 11 consecutive wins, it was finally time for Merab Dvalishvili to call himself an UFC champion. He was a deserved one at the moment, and he is even more deserving now. What followed in the aftermath of his first title win was the showcasing of the appetite never seen before in the UFC. Unlike some of the other champions who immediately start picking their opponents after securing the title, Merab decided to take on any fight put on his plate. Not only that he fought three more times for the title, Merab fought three more times only during 2025. 

To look at the run on which Merab is right now you would say that he is a fighter at the start of his career with the amount of fights he is taking on. The first of many title defences to come his way was against Umar Nurmagomedov at the UFC 311 on January 19th of 2025. As you could have guessed it was yet another win via unanimous decision. But, it was not an easy encounter by any means. Merab was an underdog for this bout, as he had the undefeated 18:0 fighter in Umar against him. The fact that he was still an underdog after 11 consecutive wins and a title was enough to motivate the Georgian fighter to defend his title for the first time. 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 was the official score, despite the fact that Umar felt hard by claiming that he won the first three rounds, and that he fought the entire bout post round 1 with a broken hand.

With the Umar fight behind him, Merab felt like the world was there for the talking and he took yet another title defence fight in 2025, and it was a rematch against Sean O’Malley. The bout was scheduled for June 8th, at UFC 316 in yet another event headlined by the two fighters. It was evident from the get go that it was Merab who learned more after their first fight, and that O’Malley simply doesn’t have the tools to seriously parry the Georgian. It was one of the rare fights Merab has managed to win via a submission as that is not part of his style. The funny part is that he managed to submit Sean via an unorthodox north south choke. Before making a stop in the round three of the UFC 316 main event, Merab brought forth his trademark high pace, wrestling, and cardio, but this time around he also showed an ability to fully control the duel on the ground, while also posing a great threat with his boxing which was massively improved compared to their first bout. 

Considering that his second title defence wrapped up early, Merab took a chance from UFC to fight once again in 2025. In less than 12 months, the Georgian fighter won a title and defended it three times. His latest encounter was a bout against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320, which was yet another win by a unanimous decision. Fought in the shadows of the rematch between Ankalaev and Pereira, Merab and Cory more than delivered. Considering that Alex finished Big Ank in the first round, the fans were satisfied that Merab once again put on a 5 round show for the audience. 

As we said, Merab is eager to fight some more this year, and he already has set his eyes on Petr Yan for a December encounter. A fourth title defence inside of one year would make him the only UFC fighter to do it. Even now, he is only one of eight fighters to defend a title three times during one year standing next to greats such as Alex Pereira, Matt Hughes, Frank Shamrock, Demetrious Johnson, Chuck Liddell, Kamaru Usman, and Tito Ortiz. 

Standing on the brink of legendary legacy of the bantamweight division is the place where the Machine wants to be, and if the UFC and Dana White allow it, it will be cemented in December.