Merab Dvalishvili wants to be the most active champion on the UFC roster and he’s doing everything possible to live up to that title.
Following wins over Umar Nurmagomedov and Sean O’Malley to start the year, Dvalishvili immediately called for the chance to defend his bantamweight belt again as soon as possible. He got his wish with a fight booked against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 and Dvalishvili is so confident in victory he’s already started teasing a rematch with Petr Yan to close out the year in December.
Four title fights in one calendar year might seem unrealistic, but Dvalishvili’s head coach John Wood promises the reigning 135-pound champion is serious about keeping that kind of schedule.
“One hundred percent, no doubt in my mind. No doubt,” Wood told MMA Fighting. “Once he gets past Cory, he’s going to want to fight again. Unless there’s some kind of injury and even then, I still think he would try to pull it off. If he’s healthy, I think December is a go. He’s already got it set in his mind and when that man has something set in his mind, he’s going to do it.
“Not overlooking anything, I can go on and just say for sure that he’s not overlooking Cory. Not the case at all. He gets a thing in his mind and ‘this is what I’m going to do.’ I believe he truly will. UFC loves that kind of shit. As long as he’s healthy and he’s ready to go and it makes sense, I do not see a world where that doesn’t exist.”
Dvalishvili specifically mentioned Yan as a potential opponent because the former UFC champion has rattled off three wins in a row since they first met back in 2023. On that night, Dvalishvili scored a lopsided decision win after he outworked and outgrappled Yan across all five rounds.
Considering how the that initial encounter played out, it might seem like Dvalishvili wouldn’t interested in running it back again, but Wood explained why Yan could be just one of several rematches on Dvalishili’s upcoming schedule.
“It’s the victory lap,” Wood said. “When we get past Sandhagen then I think Yan is the one up. I think there’s the set where if [Mario] Bautista beats Umar [Nurmagomedov] then Bautista has done enough and I think Merab really respects that kind of path that he’s had to take, that grind. Very similar to Merab to get to that title shot.
“As far as the top 10 … we’re going to run a couple of laps around it. But there’s always younger, better guys coming up that are hungry, that will come out of nowhere. You’ve seen it a couple of times. I think Joshua Van, I think he’s getting a title shot [at flyweight] just a couple of fights removed from Contender Series or whatever it was. There will be guys. There will be tons of challenges. I do think we’ll have a couple of rematches. Obviously, Yan will be one of them. I’m sure they’re going to want to put Umar in if he gets one win, he’ll be a shoe in of course. That’s the job. To go out there and beat everybody and beat the next best guys.”
The same goes for Sean O’Malley, who is currently 0-2 against Dvalishvili, who is rumored to be fighting Song Yadong in late 2025 or early 2026. Wood believes O’Malley will back in the title fight mix again with a win and Dvalishvili wouldn’t blink if the UFC came calling with O’Malley again.
“O’Malley I think is fighting Song,” Wood said. “That’s one I think if O’Malley goes on any kind of streak, meaning two fights, maybe even one, they’ll probably try to throw him back in there. He’ll talk his way into it. Star power. Rankings don’t mean much. It really is what kind of push and what kind of pull you get with the brass and the fans.”
As much as Wood predicts Dvalishvili ends up competing in a few rematches in the near future, he also recognizes that new talent always finds a way to emerge in unexpected circumstances.
Whether it’s a familiar face or somebody new, Wood expects the same kind of performance from Dvalishvili because he’s never struggled to motivate the bantamweight champion for any fight.
“The thing with the UFC and we’ve seen it multiple times in the last year there’s so many young guys and so many talented guys coming out that can just step in,” Wood said. “Win on Dana White’s Contender Series, get a fight, get a good knockout, take a short notice fight and then jump up, somebody falls out and the next thing you know they’re in a title fight. These young, talented kids. So there’s never going to be a shortage of people coming after us for the belt and talented guys.”
“This [fight against Sandhagen] is probably his friendliest, most peaceful camp and he’s working harder than I’ve ever seen him. The motivation is you had to work so hard to get here and now you have this guy, whoever it may be, standing across the cage that wants to take it all away. That is enough for that man to go ‘not happening.’ He always tells me, ‘push me hard, do not let me settle, push me harder.’ He is so self-motivated. He is up for whatever happens, however it happens, whoever it is and that’s what defines and makes him a champion.”
