Merab Dvalishvili didn’t just win at UFC 316, he made sure the entire country of Georgia was wide awake and celebrating. After submitting Sean O’Malley in the third round to defend his bantamweight title, Dvalishvili took a moment to soak it all in, knowing the eyes of his homeland were glued to the screen.
Merab Dvalishvili Talks Georgia
“This is a big, big moment for me. I’m sure all my country will be up already, watching my fights, celebrating. All my country will be happy,” he said, in the UFC post-fight press conference.
Merab Dvalishvili’s story isn’t your standard rags-to-riches sports tale. Born in the small village of Vani just as the Soviet Union collapsed, he grew up with more blackouts than TV time and learned early that you had to be tough to get by. “We were coming from the war in 1991, growing up as new, new, new, and it didn’t even make sense to have a refrigerator because the light was going on and off,” he recalled.
For Merab Dvalishvili, childhood was less about cartoons and more about survival, with a few close calls thrown in for good measure. “I grew up in Georgia, spoke only Georgian, didn’t see much. I didn’t even have a TV until I was 12. There was no electricity in my car.”
By the time he was nine, his family had moved to Tbilisi, still scraping by in a basement apartment. Dvalishvili credits his stubborn streak and a couple of heroic saves by his older brother for keeping him in one piece. Martial arts became his ticket out, first through sambo and judo, and later, a one-way trip to the United States at 21. There, he juggled hard labor with harder training, eventually landing at the famed Longo and Serra gym in New York.
Fast-forward to UFC 316, and Dvalishvili’s relentless wrestling and bottomless gas tank have made him a champion no one wants to face. Thirteen wins in a row, two title defenses, and a list of toppled former champs – Merab’s resume is starting to look incredible. But for all the hardware and headlines, Dvalishvili keeps his focus on something bigger. “Somebody from a small country fighting in the US, in UFC, in the main event, supporting the belt – of course, it’s big. It’s really big. I wanted to be an athlete because I want to represent my country outside of my country.”
“I come from nothing, but I’m just grateful. I started fighting in the sport because I want to represent my country, and I think I’m doing okay. I’m happy that I can make my country, Georgian people, proud. This should be good motivation for every small country.”
