Merab Dvalishvili (born January 10, 1991) is a Georgian professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. He currently competes in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

division in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). As of March 13, 2023, he is #1 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.

Background

Dvalishvili grew up in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

, Georgia. He started training in qartuli chidaoba (traditional wrestling) and

khridoli Khridoli ( ka, ხრიდოლი) is an eclectic martial art from Georgia. It consists of five components, namely ''khardiorda'' (wrestling), ''krivi'' (boxing), ''p'arikaoba'' (fencing), ''rkena'' (throws and grabs also seen in Sambo and ...

(transitional fighting),

Sambo , aka = Sombo (in English-speaking countries) , focus = Hybrid , country = Soviet Union , pioneers = Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov, Anatoly Kharlampiev , famous_pract = List of Practitioners , olym ...

and

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

when he was young for self-defense and moved to the United States when he was 21 years old to become a professional MMA fighter. He trains under Ray Longo and Matt Serra.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Dvalishvili started his MMA career in 2014 and fought under various promotions namely the Ring of Combat. He amassed a record of 7–2 prior to competing in the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Dvalishvili made his UFC debut on December 9, 2017, against Frankie Saenz at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega. He lost the fight via split decision. His next fight came on April 21, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee against Ricky Simón. He lost the fight via technical submission at the final bell. This fight earned him the ''Fight of the Night'' award. Dvalishvili's team appealed the result on the grounds that he was not unconscious at the end of the round, but the appeal was denied. Dvalishvili faced

Terrion Ware Terrion Jamar Ware (born March 31, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Growing up in Los Angeles, Terrion's original dream was to play for the Los ...

on September 15, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Dvalishvili faced Brad Katona on May 4, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Dvalishvili faced Casey Kenney on February 15, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 167. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Dvalishvili was scheduled to face

Ray Borg Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

on June 13, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Eye vs. Calvillo. However, on June 11, 2020, it was reported that Borg withdrew from the bout and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Gustavo Lopez in a catchweight bout of 140 pounds. Dvalishvili was victorious via unanimous decision. Dvalishvili faced John Dodson on August 15, 2020, at UFC 252. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Dvalishvili was expected to face Cody Stamann on December 5, 2020, at

UFC on ESPN 19 ''UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 19'' and ''UFC Vegas 16'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 5, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enter ...

. However on October 22, it was announced that Stamann pulled out due to undisclosed reasons, and he was replaced by

Raoni Barcelos Raoni Mendonça Barcelos (born May 1, 1987) is a Brazilian former amateur wrestler and grappler, and current professional mixed martial artist. He was five-times Brazilian national wrestling champion, and three-time Resurrection Fighting Alli ...

. However, Barcelos was removed from the contest due to a medical suspension related to his latest bout on

November 7 Events Pre-1600 * 335 – Athanasius is banished to Trier, on the charge that he prevented a grain fleet from sailing to Constantinople. * 680 – The Sixth Ecumenical Council commences in Constantinople. * 921 – Treaty of Bo ...

. The bout between Dvalishvili and Stamann was reschedule for

UFC Fight Night 184 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 184'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 42'' and ''UFC Vegas 18'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 6, 2021 at the ...

on February 6, 2021. In turn, in mid January, Dvalishvili was forced to pull out from the bout due to the struggle of the after-effects of a COVID-19 complication, and he was replaced by

Andre Ewell Andre Eugene Ewell (born January 21, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist. He competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He also competed for Classic Entertainment and Sports (CES MMA) and is a forme ...

. After a positive test for COVID-19, Ewell was pulled from the event and replaced by promotional newcomer Askar Askar, with the contest expected to take place at featherweight. On the day of the event, Askar was not medically cleared and the bout was cancelled. The bout between Dvalishvili and Stamann was re-scheduled again to May 1, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka. Dvalishvili won the bout via unanimous decision. Dvalishvili faced Marlon Moraes on September 25, 2021, at UFC 266. After being knocked down and nearly finished in the first round, Dvalishvili rallied and won the fight via TKO in round two. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Dvalishvili faced former UFC Featherweight champion

José Aldo José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júniorhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/CI3oOc0VAAAr_iv.jpg (, born 9 September 1986), commonly anglicized as Jose Aldo, is a retired Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He last competed in the Ultimate Fig ...

on August 20, 2022, at UFC 278. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Dvalishvili faced

Petr Yan Petr Evgenyevich Yan (russian: Пётр Евге́ньевич Я́н, translit=Pyotr Yevgenyevich Yan; born 11 February 1993) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate ...

on March 11, 2023 at UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Dvalishvili broke the UFC record for most takedowns attempted in a bout in UFC history with 49 attempts.

Professional grappling career

In 2019, Dvalishvili finished second in the Sambo World Championships in South Korea. Dvalishvili competed in combat sambo at 68 kilograms and lost in the finals to Russia's Stepan Kobenov. Dvalishvili fought in the main event of Fury Pro Grappling 2 on October 29, 2021, and lost a unanimous decision to Kevin Dantzler. Dvalishvili was booked to compete against Darren Branch in the main event of High Rollerz 23 on January 21, 2023. He won the match by submission, with a choke from kesa-gatame.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (One time) ** Fight of the Night (One time) ** Most unanimous decision wins in UFC Bantamweight division history (7) **Tied ( Aljamain Sterling) for the longest win streak in UFC Bantamweight division history (8) ** Most takedowns landed in UFC Bantamweight division history (61) **Most significant strikes landed in UFC Bantamweight division history (1569) **Tied ( Demetrious Johnson) for fourth most takedowns landed in UFC history (74) **Most takedowns attempted in a bout in UFC history (49 vs

) *Ring of Combat **ROC Bantamweight Championship (One Time) ***One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Raufeon Stots Raufeon Stots (born December 16, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist and graduated collegiate wrestler currently competing in the bantamweight division of Bellator MMA, where he is the current Interim Bellator Bantamweight Champion. As a w ...

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Tony Gravely Tony Gravely (born September 28, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Gravely's father was a Tae Kwon Do instructor for over 25 years, so he started ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dvalishvili, Merab Living people 1991 births Sportspeople from Tbilisi Male judoka from Georgia (country) Male mixed martial artists from Georgia (country) Sambo practitioners from Georgia (country) Bantamweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing sambo Mixed martial artists utilizing judo