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Ex-double champ up next
Dvalishvili (hand) will compete against fellow bantamweight Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, according to Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com.
ANALYSIS
Dvalishvili needed a little more than four months for his hand to recover, but it has healed nonetheless. For his next fight, he will compete against a former double champion. Cejudo may enter the fight at 37 years old, but perhaps he can put up a good bout again like he did against Aljamain Sterling in mid-2023. Defeating the former double champion, also a top-three bantamweight contender, would finally grant Dvalishvili a shot for bantamweight gold, which Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera will fight for at UFC 299.
Dvalishvili needed a little more than four months for his hand to recover, but it has healed nonetheless. For his next fight, he will compete against a former double champion. Cejudo may enter the fight at 37 years old, but perhaps he can put up a good bout again like he did against Aljamain Sterling in mid-2023. Defeating the former double champion, also a top-three bantamweight contender, would finally grant Dvalishvili a shot for bantamweight gold, which Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera will fight for at UFC 299.
Out three-to-four months
Dvalishvili (hand) will be out three-to-four months, according to Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com.
ANALYSIS
Now, Dvalishvili's injury has a timetable. Fortunately for the Georgian, his surgically-repaired hand will not sideline him so long, as the updated agenda offers him an opportunity to compete again in 2023 if he really wants to. The No. 1 contender for the UFC Bantamweight Championship but unwilling to fight gym teammate and division champion Aljamain Sterling, Dvalishvili will wait to fight against a top-five contender (except for Petr Yan) or participate in a title match without Aljo next.
Now, Dvalishvili's injury has a timetable. Fortunately for the Georgian, his surgically-repaired hand will not sideline him so long, as the updated agenda offers him an opportunity to compete again in 2023 if he really wants to. The No. 1 contender for the UFC Bantamweight Championship but unwilling to fight gym teammate and division champion Aljamain Sterling, Dvalishvili will wait to fight against a top-five contender (except for Petr Yan) or participate in a title match without Aljo next.
Undergoes hand surgery
Dvalishvili disclosed via his personal Twitter account last week that he would undergo surgery on his right hand.
ANALYSIS
Dvalishvili last competed in March, when he handed top-5 bantamweight Petr Yan a convincing defeat via unanimous decision. That would put him in a spot to fight for a title, but current teammate Aljamain Sterling currently holds the belt at 135, and the two have been open about the fact that they will not fight each other. Sterling recently defended his title in a close fight against Henry Cejudo, and Cejudo proceeded to call out Dvalishvili as his next opponent. That fight never materialized, and now Dvalishvili will be forced to spend some time on the sidelines. According to MMA Mania, via teammate Chris Weidman, Dvalishvili will be looking at a 16-week recovery process and hopes to return to the Octagon within 22 weeks, which would put him in line for approximately a mid-October return.
Dvalishvili last competed in March, when he handed top-5 bantamweight Petr Yan a convincing defeat via unanimous decision. That would put him in a spot to fight for a title, but current teammate Aljamain Sterling currently holds the belt at 135, and the two have been open about the fact that they will not fight each other. Sterling recently defended his title in a close fight against Henry Cejudo, and Cejudo proceeded to call out Dvalishvili as his next opponent. That fight never materialized, and now Dvalishvili will be forced to spend some time on the sidelines. According to MMA Mania, via teammate Chris Weidman, Dvalishvili will be looking at a 16-week recovery process and hopes to return to the Octagon within 22 weeks, which would put him in line for approximately a mid-October return.
Record night in main event rout
Dvalishvili defeated Petr Yan via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
The previous record for most takedown attempts in a single UFC bout prior to this fight was 33 by Cain Velasquez (he landed 11) in his UFC 155 win over Junior dos Santos in December of 2012. Well, Merab landed 11 also, only they came on an absolutely insane 49 attempts. One would reason that 38 failed attempts would mean you fought poorly, but the constant pressure of Merab left Yan totally off-balance and completely eliminated his opponent's chances of generating any offense of his own. In fact, it resulted in Merab landing 202 total strikes compared to just 87 from Yan, who is typically a much better stand-up fighter. Merab is far from the best striker in the bantamweight division, but he's certainly one of the best wrestlers, and he has the best cardio in the sport today. Any five-round fight in which he competes is going to favor him, as he can compete at a pace his opposition cannot match. It's the ultimate cheat code. Dvalishvili obviously deserves a title shot, but his best friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion, and Merab has already said the two will not fight each other. He said he will bide his time until Sterling moves up to featherweight, something that has been in the plans for a while now. In the meantime for Dvalishvili, perhaps a date with Sean O'Malley (best-case scenario) or Cory Sandhagen (not as much) is in order.
The previous record for most takedown attempts in a single UFC bout prior to this fight was 33 by Cain Velasquez (he landed 11) in his UFC 155 win over Junior dos Santos in December of 2012. Well, Merab landed 11 also, only they came on an absolutely insane 49 attempts. One would reason that 38 failed attempts would mean you fought poorly, but the constant pressure of Merab left Yan totally off-balance and completely eliminated his opponent's chances of generating any offense of his own. In fact, it resulted in Merab landing 202 total strikes compared to just 87 from Yan, who is typically a much better stand-up fighter. Merab is far from the best striker in the bantamweight division, but he's certainly one of the best wrestlers, and he has the best cardio in the sport today. Any five-round fight in which he competes is going to favor him, as he can compete at a pace his opposition cannot match. It's the ultimate cheat code. Dvalishvili obviously deserves a title shot, but his best friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion, and Merab has already said the two will not fight each other. He said he will bide his time until Sterling moves up to featherweight, something that has been in the plans for a while now. In the meantime for Dvalishvili, perhaps a date with Sean O'Malley (best-case scenario) or Cory Sandhagen (not as much) is in order.
Fighting fellow top contender
Dvalishvili will fight Petr Yan in a bantamweight bout in the main event of the UFC's March 11 card in Las Vegas, Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
ANALYSIS
Dvalishvili is coming off a statement win via unanimous decision against former featherweight champion Jose Aldo in August. The third-ranked bantamweight contender will now get another chance to continue climbing his way up this division, as he'll take on the second-ranked bantamweight contender in Yan. The 30-year-old Russian is coming off back-to-back losses via unanimous decisions versus the only other two fighters listed higher in these ranks, falling to defending champion Aljamain Sterling in April followed by Sean O'Malley in October. Yan is still 8-3-0 in his UFC career, so he'll present the toughest test up to this point for the red-hot Dvalishvili.
Dvalishvili is coming off a statement win via unanimous decision against former featherweight champion Jose Aldo in August. The third-ranked bantamweight contender will now get another chance to continue climbing his way up this division, as he'll take on the second-ranked bantamweight contender in Yan. The 30-year-old Russian is coming off back-to-back losses via unanimous decisions versus the only other two fighters listed higher in these ranks, falling to defending champion Aljamain Sterling in April followed by Sean O'Malley in October. Yan is still 8-3-0 in his UFC career, so he'll present the toughest test up to this point for the red-hot Dvalishvili.