Merab Dvalishvili is on the cusp of fighting for the bantamweight title. The Georgian refused to fight then- bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling as ‘Funkmaster” is his teammate and close friend. This drew criticism from UFC boss Dana White who said that he hated this mentality.

However, after Sterling lost his title to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, there were renewed calls for Dvalishvili to fight ‘Suga’ for his first title defense. The UFC had different plans, however, and decided O’Malley would rematch Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera and Dvalishvili would face former champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 for the no. 1 title contender status. As he sets up for the most important fight of his career so far, let us look at Merab Dvalishvili’s record and losses.

Merab Dvalishvili MMA record, UFC debut and opponents

Merab Dvalishvili was born on January 10, 1991 in the city of Tbilisi in Georgian SSR, then a part of the USSR. He started training martial arts at a young age, starting off with qartuli chidaoba and khridoli (traditional Georgian martial arts), and going on to train in combat sambo and judo.

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The Georgian moved to the USA when he was 21 and started his mixed martial arts career soon after. Dvalishvili made his MMA debut in 2014 in the Ring of Combat promotion. He compiled a record of 7-2 in the Ring of Combat circuit before he made his UFC debut on December 9, 2017.

Dvalishvili fought Frankie Saenz in his first UFC outing back in December 2017 on a Fight Night card. Since then, he has fought 10 times in the UFC, winning 8 and losing 2 of those bouts, taking his overall tally to 16-4 in his professional career.

Every loss in Merab Dvalishvili’s MMA career

The first loss in Merab Dvalishvili’s career came in his very first pro MMA bout back in 2014. The Georgian lost a close, majority decision to Darren Mima after three rounds of their Ring of Combat 47 contest. The only other loss on record prior to joining the UFC came in 2017 at the hands of Ricky Bandejas who defeated him via a unanimous decision.

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The #2 ranked bantamweight contender has lost two times in the UFC, with his first loss coming on debut to Frankie Saenz in December 2017. His second appearance in the UFC Octagon proved even more disastrous as the Georgian submitted to Ricky Simon in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 128 bout.

However, after a rocky start to his UFC career, Dvalishvili has bounced back strongly. The 33-year-old has won all of his UFC fights since and is on a 9-fight win streak currently. Dvalishvili will face former two-division champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 in what is being seen as a title eliminator for the winner of the Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera rematch at UFC 299 in March.

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