Merab Dvalishvili Record, stats and next fight

Background

Born on January 10, 1991, in Vani, in western Georgia, Dvalishvili grew up in a country with a strong wrestling tradition. He practiced combat sambo and judo before moving to the United States, where he joined the Serra-Longo Fight Team on Long Island, New York, under Ray Longo and Matt Serra. He became an American citizen in 2024.

He turned professional in 2014 and became the Ring of Combat bantamweight champion in 2017, which opened the door to the UFC that same year.

UFC Career

His first two fights in the organization ended in losses: a split decision against Frankie Saenz in December 2017, then a technical submission against Ricky Simon in April 2018, in a fight that earned a bonus of the night. He then strung together fourteen straight wins, a total that places him among the longest streaks in the division.

That run includes decisions over Terrion Ware, Brad Katona, Casey Kenney, John Dodson and Cody Stamann, a TKO of Marlon Moraes at UFC 266, then decision wins over Jose Aldo at UFC 278, over Petr Yan in March 2023 and over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 in February 2024.

On September 14, 2024, at UFC 306, he beat Sean O’Malley by decision to become the bantamweight champion. He defended the title three times: against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January 2025, against Sean O’Malley by north-south choke in the third round at UFC 316 in June, then against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 in October, which tied the division record for consecutive defenses.

On December 6, 2025, at UFC 323, he lost the belt to Petr Yan by unanimous decision. The bout earned Fight of the Night.

On October 24, 2026, at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, he faced Petr Yan a third time in a bid to reclaim the title. After winning the first two rounds, he ultimately lost by unanimous decision after dropping the final three rounds.

The fight against Cory Sandhagen took place at UFC 320, the same card as the light heavyweight rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira. There, Dvalishvili tied the record for consecutive bantamweight title defenses, which stands at three. Two months later, he put the belt on the line against Petr Yan, whom he had already beaten in March 2023, and lost for the first time since April 2018.

Fighting Style

Dvalishvili builds his fights on a marathon pace: he chains takedown attempts round after round, gets back up immediately when he is pushed off and leaves little room to breathe. His volume of takedowns ranks among the highest in the organization’s history. Sixteen of his twenty-one wins came by decision, which reflects a control game more than a finishing one, even though he has three stoppages and two submissions.