Merab Dvalishvili News

Harry Kettle - May 20, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili’s coach has revealed that they nearly pulled him from his UFC 311 title fight against Umar Nurmagomedov. At UFC 316, Merab Dvalishvili will attempt to successfully defend his UFC bantamweight championship for the second time. He’ll do so by going up against Sean O’Malley, the same man that he defeated to win the belt in the first place. Since that initial title win, he’s kept himself busy by also locking horns with Umar Nurmagomedov, who he was able to defeat at the start of the year in a really competitive affair.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 7, 2025

Jose Aldo was never known for being a trash talker, but he doesn’t shy away from throwing out a zinger or two. Aldo is already a UFC Hall of Famer, but he still competes inside the Octagon. While Aldo hasn’t tasted UFC gold in quite some time, he still believes in his ability to put on a show. While wins over Marlon “Chito” Vera, Pedro Munhoz, Rob Font, and Jonathan Martinez proved Aldo still has some juice left in the tank, losses against Merab Dvalishvili and Mario Bautista frustrated the UFC legend.

Harry Kettle - May 3, 2025

Cory Sandhagen has given his thoughts on what Sean O’Malley can do to defeat Merab Dvalishvili in their rematch. In the main event of UFC 316, Sean O’Malley will challenge Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC bantamweight championship. Dvalishvili was able to take the belt from ‘Suga’ last year in their first encounter, with many wondering whether or not the outcome would be different if they were to run it back. Well, next month, we’ll get the chance to find out.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 22, 2025

A current UFC titleholder doesn’t want to see Ilia Topuria’s move to lightweight become a waste. Topuria recently vacated the UFC Featherweight Championship to move up to the 155-pound division. “La Leyenda” is seeking a shot at Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title. While the potential fight would be lucrative, Makhachev’s team argues that Topuria should have a No. 1 contender fight first.

Harry Kettle - April 16, 2025

UFC president Dana White has defended the promotion’s decision to book a rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley are set to run it back at UFC 316 on June 7. It will serve as an immediate rematch for O’Malley, who hasn’t competed since his initial loss to Merab. While it wasn’t all one-way traffic, the majority of people believe that the Georgian decisively won the contest. Since then, he’s also successfully defended the strap against Umar Nurmagomedov.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 9, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili has no problem mixing it up with Sean O’Malley again. Dvalishvili took the UFC Bantamweight Championship from O’Malley in the main event of UFC 306, which was held inside the Sphere in Las Vegas back in Sept. 2024. Dvalishvili went on to have a successful title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov, while O’Malley was recovering from surgery to fix a torn labrum in his left hip.

BJ Penn Staff - April 8, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley traded a ton of pre-fight trash talk before their first meeting in the UFC. Apparently, it wasn’t serious — at least, not from the former’s perspective. Dvalishvili and O’Malley first met at UFC 306 at the Las Vegas Sphere last September. Dvalishvili was challenging O’Malley for the bantamweight belt, and ultimately succeeded on his mission, dominating the five-round fight with his wrestling to a clear-cut unanimous decision win.

Harry Kettle - April 8, 2025

Sean O’Malley shouldn’t have opted to rematch Merab Dvalishvili straight away, says former UFC star Ben Askren. As we now know, Sean O’Malley will challenge Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC bantamweight championship at UFC 316. While Dvalishvili has already defended his belt against Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean hasn’t fought since he lost the strap to Merab at UFC 306. Some expected him to take on a fellow contender in his next outing, but that isn’t the direction he’s gone in.

BJ Penn Staff - April 7, 2025

Sean O’Malley is one of the most popular fighters in the UFC right now, but his reign as the promotion’s bantamweight champ didn’t last long. O’Malley won the bantamweight belt with a knockout of Aljamain Sterling in 2023. After defending his belt with a lopsided decision win over Marlon “Chito” Vera early last year, he then lost the belt last September, suffering a decision loss to Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 6, 2025

Renowned head coach Javier Mendez believes he knows how Merab Dvalishvili swayed the judges at UFC 311. Dvalishvili made his first defense of the UFC Bantamweight Championship against Umar Nurmagomedov on Jan. 18. Dvalishvili’s cardio proved to be a major factor in the fight, and he was able to keep the challenger’s grappling at bay. “The Machine” won the fight via unanimous decision, handing Nurmagomedov his first pro MMA loss.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 2, 2025

Sean O’Malley has shared his first words publicly since the announcement of his UFC 316 title rematch against Merab Dvalishvili. UFC CEO Dana White recently announced that Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2 will be held inside the Prudential Center in Newark on June 7. The “Sugar” show lost the UFC Bantamweight Championship to “The Machine” back in Sept. 2024. O’Malley didn’t have an answer for his opponent’s relentless pressure.

Josh Evanoff - April 1, 2025

UFC 316 will be headlined by Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2, Dana White revealed earlier today. Earlier today, the UFC CEO took to social media to announce several new fights. Sadly, the Fight Night slated for Kansas City later this month has a new main event, following an injury to Jamahal Hill. As a result, ‘Sweet Dreams’ is out of his slated fight against Khalil Rountree Jr., and the bout has been replaced by Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates. However, that welterweight headliner wasn’t the only bout announced earlier today.

Harry Kettle - March 8, 2025

It turns out that UFC stars Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili aren’t the bigger enemies that we once thought them to be. Last year, Sean O’Malley defended his UFC bantamweight championship against Merab Dvalishvili. While it wasn’t a complete one-sided domination, it was clear to see that the Georgian sensation had done more than enough to get himself over the finish line.

BJ Penn Staff - February 23, 2025

It’s not yet clear who UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili will defend his title against next. However, company president Dana White dropped a big clue following Saturday’s Fight Night card in Seattle. He claimed that Dvalishvili wants to run it back with the man we won the title from last year, Sean O’Malley, and that the feeling is mutual. He also called the rematch a fight “people want to see” at 135 pounds.

Harry Kettle - February 17, 2025

UFC legend Henry Cejudo has given his thoughts on who Merab Dvalishvili’s next opponent as champion should be. Merab Dvalishvili is one of the most successful fighters in the UFC today. In addition to his incredible win streak, he’s also now successfully defended the UFC bantamweight championship. With wins over Sean O’Malley and Umar Nurmagomedov, he’s firmly established himself as the best fighter at 135 pounds right now.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 14, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili has two possible challengers in mind for his UFC Bantamweight Championship. Dvalishvili is riding high following his impressive performance against Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311. The Georgian titleholder was able to thwart his opponent’s grappling efforts and managed to outwork him for a unanimous decision victory. It was the first successful title defense for Dvalishvili and now he is looking ahead.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 23, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili has been on a tear, and Ray Longo believes the UFC played a significant role. Dvalishvili is the reigning UFC bantamweight champion. He’s fresh off his first successful title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311. The 135-pound titleholder displayed his elite conditioning and grappling to outlast the challenger after five rounds of action.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 22, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili has one top UFC bantamweight contender knocking on his door. Dvalishvili is the reigning 135-pound champion, who is fresh off a successful title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov collided in the co-main event of UFC 311. The Georgian champion was able to retain his gold thanks to some elite conditioning and grappling.