Michael Bisping thinks Merab Dvalishvili has earned the right to chase a second UFC belt.
Bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA, 14-2 UFC) continued his tear through the division when he notched his third title defense of the year over Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320.
With Dvalishvili already holding wins over the top four ranked contenders, Bisping says it’s time he moves up to challenge UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (27-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC).
“If everyone’s going to jump around weight classes, if Khamzat Chimaev is going to fight Pereira, if Pereira’s going to fight Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall, Conor McGregor can do it without defending a belt, Islam Makhachev wants to go up, Ilia Topuria wants to go up, why can’t Merab Dvalishvili go up when he’s beaten everyone in the top 10 pretty much?” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “He’s lapping the division. Tell me that you don’t want to see a fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Merab Dvalishvili. That would be incredible. I would absolutely love to see that fight.”
Unlike Dvalishvili, Volkanovski hasn’t quite cleared the current top contenders in his division, but Bisping thinks otherwise. Volkanovski did defend his belt five times in his first reign, and Bisping would like to see him have a big fight, too.
“Now, of course, at 145, Volkanovski needs some contenders because he has gone through everyone,” Bisping said. “I mean, yes, there is the fight with Movsar Evloev. There is the fight with Lerone Murphy. Diego Lopes is making noise to fight Volkanovski again.
“That was the last person that Volkanovski fought and beat. Featherweight is a stacked division, but Volkanovski’s been through them all. … If you want to do a big fight, if you want to showcase the lighter divisions, I am telling you, Alexander Volkanovski vs. Merab Dvalishvili in 2026. I’ve got a feeling that’s going to happen.”
