Merab Dvalishvili plots three title fights in four months after UFC 311 including Sean O'Malley rematch
12/30/2024 06:43 AM
Merab Dvalishvili’s plan for 2024 includes three world title fights in the first third of the year, starting on January 18.
He is set to defend his bantamweight world title at UFC 311 in the co-headliner at the new Intuit Dome in Los Angeles against Umar Nurmagomedov. And should he get the victory, he plans to return quickly to face Petr Yan before rematching Sean O’Malley just weeks later.
All of this would see him make an unprecedented three world title defences between the months of January and April. It would be the most active period for a champion in recent memory, even trumping Alex Pereira’s stunning run last year.
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Merab Dvalishvili wants three world title fights in four months
For the entirety of his first few months as champion, Merab Dvalishvili has been insisting that he feels Nurmagomedov is not a legitimate contender for his belt. He would have preferred to give his first shot to Yan, who defeated Deiveson Figueiredo in November to secure his place back atop the division.
Speaking with the official UFC YouTube channel, the bantamweight champion noted that he feels he will get through Nurmagomedov with ease. This would allow him to fight again a few weeks later, before building to a massive rematch with O’Malley, and allowing a new contender to emerge.
“I want to be busy in 2025,” he said. “I’m fighting early, on January 18, and I wanna be busy. I know O’Malley wants to come back in April, I think Petr will be ready in March. So, maybe fight Petr in March, rematch Sean in April. And whoever is the next contender, I will clear the division again.”
Merab Dvalishvili likens himself to Jon Jones and Mike Tyson
Despite being a star still more on the rise, Dvalishvili seems to have a very high opinion of his own starpower and drawing power. He attempted to leverage this into a defence against a different contender, before conceding to the UFC that he must face Nurmagomedov.
And in the same interview he claimed his pre-fight drama made him similar to the likes of Jon Jones and Mike Tyson. “The last couple of fights I’ve gotten a lot of attention,” he noted. “People recognize me but people give hate on Instagram and social media which is very hard for me.
“The best way now is I should just stay busy and take fights and that’s it because I was gonna enjoy some time but now I feel like I’m Conor McGregor a lot of drama comes even Jon Jones and like, Mike Tyson used to get a lot of drama but it’s all good.”
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