Merab Dvalishvili Loses Bantamweight Title to Petr Yan at UFC

Merab Dvalishvili is the Georgian wrestler who lost his first two UFC fights and still climbed to bantamweight champion. Born in Tbilisi in 1991, he grew up in judo and sambo before moving to New York with almost no English, working odd jobs and training at the Serra-Longo Fight Team on Long Island. There he became the relentless training partner of Aljamain Sterling, sharpening a wrestling game built on pace rather than power. His UFC career started with back-to-back losses in 2017 and 2018, but instead of fading out, The Machine began a 14-fight win streak that dismantled the bantamweight division. He broke the record for most takedowns in UFC history, outworked former champions Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo, and in September 2024 dominated Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in Las Vegas to win the title. Known for his nonstop cardio and almost superhuman work rate, he then defended the belt three times in 2025, beating Umar Nurmagomedov, submitting O’Malley in their rematch and outpointing Cory Sandhagen. Petr Yan took the championship in December 2025, but Merab remains one of the most dominant forces in mixed martial arts, with 21 professional wins and talk of a trilogy with Yan still alive. In November 2026 he is also making headlines in Real American Freestyle, where his explosive feud with the Nurmagomedov family boiled over into a hotel brawl in Abu Dhabi before his match with Marlon Moraes. From working odd jobs in New York to wearing UFC gold, Merab Dvalishvili continues to prove that the most ferocious weapon in combat sports might simply be refusing to stop.