Merab Dvalishvili has no interest in moving up to featherweight, especially not to face Ilia Topuria for the 145-pound title. As he prepares for his long-awaited shot at bantamweight gold against Sean O’Malley at UFC 306, Dvalishvili remains firm in his stance.
The event, scheduled to take place at the Sphere in Las Vegas, could potentially see “The Machine” become the second fighter from Georgia to win a UFC title, following Topuria’s knockout of Alexander Volkanovski to claim the featherweight crown at UFC 298 earlier this year.
O’Malley, on the other hand, has been eyeing a move up to featherweight. If O’Malley gets past Dvalishvili this weekend, he has expressed interest in challenging Topuria for the title. But while his opponent might have these ambitions, Dvalishvili is content in his current division and has no intentions of going after his friend.
When asked about moving up in weight, Dvalishvili didn’t hesitate to shut down the idea, especially when it comes to fighting Topuria. Despite being six years older than the 27-year-old Topuria, Dvalishvili admires him for his intelligence and humility. He even shared that Topuria humbled him during their sparring sessions.
UFC Bantamweight Contender Merab Dvalishvili Reveals Why Facing Ilia Topuria Is Off the Table
In an interview, Dvalishvili was candid about the situation:
“Never. I will never fight Ilia,” he stated during his appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, “Firstly, he’s my brother. I really love him. He’s really younger than me, but he is smart and a very good guy. Family guy and a good friend of mine. Will never fight him.”
He further reflected on their training experience, admitting:
“I did sparring with him, and he destroyed me. He’s stronger than me. I’m not afraid to fight, but Ilia is my friend, Georgian, and I will never fight him.”
For Dvalishvili, it’s not about a fear of competition but a sense of loyalty. He’s comfortable at bantamweight and doesn’t feel the need to challenge Topuria at featherweight:
“I’m very comfortable in my weight class here at 135 [pounds]. I don’t think I will go up and fight for the belt. It’s not gonna happen.”
Though he doesn’t see himself moving to featherweight for a championship run, Dvalishvili didn’t entirely rule out the possibility of taking fights at 145 pounds. But the idea of facing someone like Volkanovski or Max Holloway seems out of reach for him right now:
“I can go fight some matchups, yes, I will. But to fight against like [Alexander] Volkanovski, Max Holloway, I’m not confident yet.”
Interestingly, Dvalishvili has even considered dropping to flyweight:
“Maybe someday if I started a diet, I can even go down to 125 [pounds],” he mentioned, indicating that if there were any potential weight changes in his future, it might be a move down rather than up.
Dvalishvili Loyal to Topuria
As for Topuria, he has his own challenges ahead. He’s set to defend his featherweight title against former champion Max Holloway in the main event at UFC 308 on October 26, which will take place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, Dvalishvili’s career is riding high with a 10-fight win streak, the longest in UFC bantamweight history. Over the course of his impressive run, he’s defeated notable names such as Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, and Jose Aldo.
With UFC 306 just around the corner, the focus remains on his upcoming fight with O’Malley, but Dvalishvili’s loyalty to Topuria is clear. No matter what opportunities arise at featherweight, a fight between these two friends seems out of the question, at least for now.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
