Watch UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili get mobbed by thousands of fans after returning home to Georgia
11/06/2025 19:00
It's safe to say that Georgia loves Merab Dvalishvili.
On Wednesday, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion returned to his home country where he was absolutely mobbed by fans at the airport after his arrival. The homecoming happened after Dvalishvili dispatched Sean O'Malley in impressive fashion with a third-round submission to cap off UFC 316 this past weekend.
Videos posted on social media show Dvalishvili surrounded by fans after he got off the plane to begin his victory tour at home.
From there, Dvalishvili boarded a double-decker bus where fans were actually speeding by in motorcycles just hoping to get a glimpse of the champion after returning home.
The insane scene captures Dvalishvili's growing popularity as he proudly represents Georgia every chance he gets.
Dvalishvili was joined by his head coach John Wood, who detailed how the UFC champion never fails to embrace his fans even if that requires him to stop everything else he's doing to make sure everyone gets a little bit of time with him.
"He really is that guy," Wood told MMA Fighting. "Merab is the nicest, funniest, loving dude. He will sign every freaking autograph, talk to every single person, he loves it. He would go and do every event. He never says no.
"I've seen him so many times, it takes us hours to get places when we're with him because he'll jump out of the van and just start signing [autographs] for people on the street corner and then a herd comes and he won't turn anybody down."
Dvalishvili definitely got that kind of reception back at home in Georgia where he'll continue to celebrate his latest victory and the second straight defense of his title after beating Umar Nurmagomedov back in January.
