What’s Next For Merab Dvalishvili?

January 20, 2025
3 weeks
What's Next For Merab Dvalishvili?

Merab Dvalishvili beat Umar Nurmagomedov to retain his UFC Bantamweight Title, raising question marks over his next steps. 

Dvalishvili produced a scintillating performance to give Nurmagomedov the first defeat of his UFC career. He rallied after a slow start to tire Umar down from round three onwards as he won a unanimous decision. While Umar said he broke his hand, which became known in his post-fight comments, he came out second best to a better fighter. It was the first successful defence of Merab’s title, as he will ponder his next move. 

He could target the rematch with O’Malley, who is expected to return in April. The ease with which he beat O’Malley will give him the confidence he can repeat the feat the second time. It is also one of the most lucrative fights out there for him, given the huge fanbase that Sean has amassed. O’Malley has also said that he was injured heading into the fight, as he later underwent surgery on his hip. That has set the narrative for a rematch. 

Options

The other alternative is to face Petr Yan. The latter beat Deiveson Figueiredo in his last fight to produce two wins on the spin. The general consensus is that Yan has returned from his poor run of form. He had lost three in a row before those two wins. It would also be a rematch of Merab’s earlier clash in 2023. Yan called out Merab after his last win, with Dvalishvili open to that bout. 

There is also the Nurmagomedov rematch. Umar will argue that he could not impose his style with that hand injury, which happened in the first round. His manager, Ali Abdelaziz, shared a picture of the injured hand to set the narrative that the injury had an impact. Nurmagomedov also experienced his first loss, meaning he will be desperate to set things right.

Will He Retire?

This was the fight that was meant to announce himself to the world stage. He was undefeated with a 6-0 record, coming into this fight. His cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov, had also talked his credentials up. But the injury means Umar will be out for some time, leaving him with plenty to think about. Equally, Merab could walk away from the sport. In his post-fight comments, he did say he could retire and walk away happily. 

“I’m so proud of myself. I can retire today and I can die happy. And one more time, my country, I love you, Georgia! America, I love you too,” Merab said 

This is arguably one of his best wins since the O’Malley victory. He entertained the crowd, showboated during the rounds and rocked Umar in the last round with a brutal right hand. But the first step will be to recover, as he admitted he had picked up a back injury coming into this camp. As he is in the latter part of his career, Merab must make the right move. 

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