Merab Dvalishvili could have fought for the bantamweight title last year. ‘The Machine’ was ranked #1 in the bantamweight division and was on a nine-fight streak then. However, the Georgian announced that he would not fight teammate and dear friend Aljamain Sterling, who was the champion then.

The situation has changed after Sean O’Malley defeated ‘Funkmaster’ at UFC 292 last year. Fans demanded that Dvalishvili be O’Malley’s first title defense, but the UFC went with Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, who handed ‘Suga’ the only loss in his career over three years ago. Dvalishvili is going to face former champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 in a virtual title eliminator for the 135-pound gold. The bout is expected to be a wrestling masterclass as both men are primarily grapplers. And as he gears up for the most important fight of his career so far, let us take a look at one aspect that makes him stand out: his hat.

History behind Merab Dvalishvili’s hat, what is it made of and why does the Georgian wear it?

Merab Dvalishvili hails from the Caucasus mountain country of Georgia. A proud Georgian, his life is steeped in the customs and traditions of his home country, and he even has a tattoo of the Georgian flag emblazoned on his chest.

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Because of this geographical proximity, the Georgians share certain cultural affinities with other cultural groups and communities of the Caucuses region, including those from Dagestan. And one clear symbol of their shared heritage is the traditional Georgian cap that Dvalishvili sometimes sports.

The cap, called ‘Papakha’ is a high wool hat traditionally made from sheepskin, that is worn by the men in the Caucuses to protect against the extreme cold in the region. Dvalishvili wears the cap to express his affinity to his homeland and its customs , the same reason that MMA icon Khabib Nurmagomedov wore it.

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And this is not the only thing common between the former lightweight champion and Dvalishvili. Both have similar fighting styles coming from a grappling background having started training in combat sambo as children. However, despite these and other similarities, ‘The Machine’ has said reiterated that he is a different fighter from the GOAT contender.

Merab Dvalishvili explains the difference between him and Khabib Nurmagomedov

Merab Dvalishvili’s traditional Papakha led one reporter to remark that he was confused if it was him or Khabib Nurmagomedov because of the hat. He also pointed out that even his fighting style is like ‘The Eagle’ and asked Dvalishvili what he made of it. The #2 ranked bantamweight clarified that he was a different fighter from the Dagestani and did not put himself on his level since the former UFC champion was “special”. However, he did point out the cultural affinities between the Georgians and Dagestanis, even saying the only real differences between the two groups was their geographic location and their religious faith.

“Can you copy me and fight like I fight? Everybody is different, you know. I cannot copy Khabib. I think Khabib is special, he’s different, he’s strong and I mean he’s a legend. We are from uh same area, we are Caucasians. There is the Caucases mountains and then Khabib is other side. We are like same culture people, only difference [is that] we have they are Muslim we are Christian but we are very close people… So, yeah, Khabib respect [to him], but yeah I’m not [him],” Dvalishvili told the reporter. What do you think about Dvalishvili’s comments?

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