Merab Dvalishvili eyes two more title defenses in 2025 should he win at UFC 316
Merab Dvalishvili eyes two more title defenses in 2025 should he win at UFC 316 Merab Dvalishvili wants to be a busy man this 2025.
Merab Dvalishvili's nickname is "The Machine" for a reason.
Yes, he has an endless gas tank when it comes to fighting, but he's also willing and game to fight often. Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC), who's scheduled to defend his UFC bantamweight title in a rematch against Sean O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) at UFC 316 on June 7, wants to log two more title defenses in 2025, should he get his hand raised next month. That's right, Dvalishvili is hoping to have a total of four UFC title defenses, a very rare number of championship fights in a single year, as he defended his belt in January against Umar Nurmagomedov.
"God willing, this will happen," Dvalishvili told ESPN. "I'm working hard for win and to defend my belt again. I don't look at this as an easy fight, it's going to be a challenge, but I want to be busy. I'm only going to take one month off, and I'll be back to training camp. I want to be busy. I heard they're going to have a fight in Guadalajara, Mexico, and I'd like to fight there and then fight in New York (in November) or in December. Let's see. This one and two more this year. Let's see."
The UFC is scheduled to host Noche UFC on Sept. 13 in Guadalajara, Mexico. They're also expected two hold their two annual pay-per-view events in New York in November, and in Las Vegas in December. Those are cards Dvalishvili is interested in.
As far as the rematch against O'Malley, Dvalishvili is more focused on logging his second title defense, than the magnitude of the fight, given O'Malley's starpower.
"I'm sure it's going to be a big fight, we know he is the most popular in our weight class now," Dvalishvili said. "But to be honest, for me, it's about legacy and every fight is important. I'm excited for this rematch just for fighting, and I'm going to try to finish, I want to try striking, I want to try different things. I know Sean will change his plan. He's also saying he's going to be 70 percent better version, and I want to see this and test this. I'm more excited with this. Of course, thank God the UFC is a big organization and every time we fight, we make good money. I'm good with money. I'm more excited to fight."
Dvalishvili dominated O'Malley the first time the two fought back in September. Dvalishvili admits it's tough to get up for a rematch, given how successful he was in the first fight, but he knows that's not the mentality he needs to have entering UFC 316.
"It's hard to motivate myself," Dvalishvili said. "I'm fighting the same guy. But I know this guy will be more dangerous. The first fight, I was game. I had a game plan and I knew it was going to work against him. He had a game plan, and I stopped his game plan. Now I know what gamelan he's going to have, well, I'm guessing he's going to attack from the beginning with either striking or kicks. He was waiting for me, and I was just keeping distance and every time he closed distance, I was taking him down. This time, it's going to be a different game. Every fight is a new experience and I try to learn from everything."
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