On Saturday night, UFC bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili returns to action to defend his belt for a fourth time just two months after his last title defense. This time, he will take part in the second rematch of his career when he faces former champion Petr Yan in the main event of UFC 323.
Dvalishivili will aim for a 15th straight victory, which would bring him within one of the all time record of 16. On the road to UFC 323, the Georgian star has had many memorable moments. We take a look at seven of the most important in the rise of “That Machine,” Merab Dvalishvili.
Derailing the Sean O’Malley Money Train at UFC 306
The moment that really solidified Dvalishvili as a no-doubt star in the sport was when he decisively defeated Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 306 last year. Despite the 10-fight win streak he had coming into the bout, he was a sizable underdog. Many assumed that since O’Malley knocked out his teammate Aljamain Sterling — a former champion most thought was better — he would make easy work of Dvalishvili. Instead, it was the opposite on fight night.
The American had no answer for his opponent’s relentless wrestling and looked broken and defeated before the bell rang to end the fight in Round 5.
Making Sean O’Malley Tap in UFC 316 Rematch
Due to O’Malley’s popularity, there was a boatload of doubters who suggested that when “Suga” got a second crack at the new champ, he would make things right and get his belt back. Well, instead of beating him again by decision, he repeated the same game plan as the first fight but made O’Malley tap in Round 3.
It quieted all the remaining detractors and stamped Dvalishvili’s place as a pound-for-pound-level fighter in the UFC.
Notching a Big W Over UFC Legend Jose Aldo
During his dominant win streak, Dvalishvili has hit moments of resistance. One in particular came in 2022 when he wasn’t able to have his way early in his UFC 278 clash with UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo.
The Brazilian won the opening round on two scorecards and in the eyes of fight fans. However, Dvalishvili stayed focused, stuck to the game plan, and was able to grind out a pivotal win without any takedowns against a true legend of the sport. It proved that in a big fight, “The Machine” wouldn’t succumb to the pressure and could hang with elite talent.
Dominating Petr Yan With His Relentless Wrestling
Following his big win over Aldo, the UFC gave Dvalishvili another huge matchup, this time with former bantamweight champ Petr Yan. Despite showing strong take-down defense in the past, including against Dvalishvili’s teammate, Sterling, the Russian could not stop the wrestling wave of his opponent and was taken down 11 times. Five times more than the previous high for take-downs against Yan, two.
If he hasn’t made big improvements to his grappling in the two years since, Yan could end up reliving the nightmare of the first fight on Saturday at UFC 323.
Making a Statement Against ‘Triple C’
Even after he beat former champions Aldo and Yan in back-to-back fights, there were still many UFC fans who thought he would have no chance against former two-division king Henry Cejudo. The American was a better striker and an Olympic gold medalist wrestler.
Well, Merab Dvalishvili proved a lot of people wrong again when he scored five take-downs on the man known as “Triple C” and scored a clean, unanimous decision win.
Avoid UFC Release With Win Over Terrion Ware
There was a time when Dvalishvili was on the verge of being cut by the UFC. The one-time Ring of Combat star lost his first two bouts inside the Octagon, and in the second, he was choked until he turned purple by Ricky Simon. A third straight loss could have ended his UFC run.
However, he bounced back with a huge decision win over Terrion Ware to stop the losing skid and has been winning fights in the UFC ever since.
UFC 320 Win Extends Streak to 14 Straight
On Saturday at UFC 323, Dvalishvili has the chance to get within one win of the record of 16 straight Ws set by MMA legend Anderson Silva and current welterweight champ Islam Makhachev. He was able to continue his streak at UFC 320 in October when he set a new career take-down record of 20 in his dominant win over Cory Sandhagen. It was also his third straight successful title defense.
