UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili may be a polarizing figure among MMA fans, but there’s little doubt about public opinion when it comes to his home country.
Dvalishvili is fast approaching his first defense of the 135-pound gold. “The Machine” will meet the opening hurdle of his reign in the co-main event of UFC 311 this weekend, where the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov awaits.
The clash comes just four months on from Dvalishvili’s crowning, which was at the expense of Sean O’Malley inside the Sphere last September.
Like many new champs, the Georgian soon headed home with his newly won championship belt in tow. And the bantamweight kingpin got a hero’s welcome when he arrived and paraded his title around atop a bus.
Dvalishvili is feeling similar support days out from his first defense, as he explained during a fight week interview with Simon Head for UFC.com. He went as far as to suggest he could get elected as the Georgian leader if he were interested in politics.
“Once I stepped out from the plane, the police and the people, everybody, (they were) so happy and proud of me,” Dvalishvili said. “It doesn’t matter, young people, old ladies, everybody was watching, everybody was happy, because this is a big deal. Me, as a Georgian guy, fighting in the U.S., then fighting in the UFC, and then becoming UFC champion. That was huge.
“I think if there was an election now, I could become the Georgian president! I’m serious! But I stay away from politics, because politics is dirty and it’s a lot of drama,” Dvalishvili continued. “I want to do what I know – that’s fighting, and that’s what I’m best at.”
Dvalishvili will be hoping to maintain his status as champ for his next visit home. That will no doubt be a tall task, with his unbeaten challenger at UFC 311 set to make the walk inside Inglewood’s Intuit Dome as the favorite.
But the Georgian has never shied away from underdog status and firmly expects to make a statement by blemishing the currently perfect record of Nurmagomedov.
