UFC men’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili wanted to take five or six months off after winning his first title in September 2024 at Noche UFC, but he plans to hit the ground running in 2025.
Dvalishvili will defend his title against Umar Nurmagomedov on January 18 in Los Angeles in the co-main event of UFC 311. If Dvalishvili has his way, that will be the first of three fights he plans to have over a six-month period.
Dvalishvili was a guest on Michael Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast, where he discussed his immediate future.
“Didn’t you say you want three fights in six months?” Bisping asked.
“I do. I do,” Dvalishvili replied.
“And would one of those fights be against Sean O’Malley?” Bisping asked. “He wants a rematch, of course. Are you happy to give him a rematch?”
“Yes, absolutely,” Dvalishvili replied. “First, I have to focus on Umar fight. God willing, I’m going to win this fight. After my fight, I wanted to take five or six months. Five months would be in February, and six months would be in March. If O’Malley isn’t ready in March, then I fight Petr Yan in March. If O’Malley is ready to fight in April in Miami—he says he is undefeated in Miami—then we can do it there.”
Here is a look at the episode:
It would be nearly impossible for Dvalishvili to pull off what he’s describing. You hve to wonder if Dana White and Co. would even allow him to attempt to complete this feat.
All three of the opponents Dvalishvili named are extremely tough. The battle with Nurmagomedov could be a fight that goes from grappling to stand-up fighting across all five rounds.
If Dvalishvili wins at UFC 311, the prospect of fighting someone as tough as Yan in March is staggering. Dvalishvili has already defeated Yan, but the rematch figures to be even more challenging.
Lastly, Dvalishvili is talking about a one-month turnaround to take on O’Malley in a rematch the latter will be very prepared for, and the champion could be banged up from injuries.
In any case, Dvalishvili has to take things one fight at a time, and it all begins with a tough title defense against Nurmagomedov on January 18.
Next Up in the UFC – UFC Vegas 101
On January 11, the UFC comes back from a three-week absence with a card at the Apex in Las Vegas.
The main event is Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas in a rematch of their 2019 meeting. Ribas won the first fight, but Dern is now ranked one slot above Ribas.
Here is a look at the complete card.
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas – Strawweight
- Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris – Welterweight
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. César Almeida – Middleweight
- Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov – Middleweight
- Austin Bashi vs. Christian Rodriguez – Featherweight
- Punahele Soriano vs. Uroš Medić – Welterweight
- Jose Johnson vs. Felipe Bunes – Flyweight
- Marco Túlio vs. Ihor Potieria – Middleweight
- Thiago Moisés vs. Trey Ogden – Lightweight
- Andreas Gustafsson vs. Preston Parsons – Welterweight
- Ernesta Kareckaite vs. Nicolle Caliari – Flyweight
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes – Light Heavyweight
- Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Fatima Kline – Strawweight
- Nurullo Aliev vs. Yanal Ashmouz – Lightweight
