Latest news with #Merab
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Alexandre Pantoja open to 'roll the dice' in champ-champ fight vs. Merab Dvalishvili
UFC flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja is open to the idea of going after a second title. Pantoja (30-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) has four title defenses under his belt, and appears to get better each time out. The 35-year-old champ has wins over six of the current UFC-ranked top 10 contenders. While Pantoja is comfortable ruling over his division, he isn't completely shunning the idea of moving up to bantamweight to challenge Merab Dvalishvili for the title. "That fight makes sense right now, why not?" Pantoja told Home of Fight. "It's gonna be amazing, but the problem is, why do I need to go to 135?" On his run as champ, Pantoja defeated Brandon Moreno to win the title, and has since defended his crown against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, Kai Asakura and Kai Kara-France. Add in prior wins over Manel Kape and Alex Perez, and that's six of the top 10. However, the other four have been turning heads as they navigate their way to the top. The next expected opponent for Pantoja is Joshua Van, who faced off with Pantoja inside the octagon at UFC 317, although the fight does not have a date or location. There's also Tatsuro Taira, who rebounded impressively from his first career loss by stopping HyunSung Park, and Amir Albazi, who was originally set to face Taira for what would have been a big top 10 matchup. Lastly, Asu Almabayev is making noise at 5-1 in the division. "I keep having challenges in my division," Pantoja said. "Why not (Mohammad Mokaev if he returns)? He has good grappling. ... Taira, he showed better boxing. When he fought Royval, Royval made him get in trouble. Now I see he have better boxing, he fixed a couple of things. Joshua have amazing boxing too, amazing skill, good takedown defense – I have very good challengers there." Most importantly, Pantoja isn't overlooking what lies ahead. He knows that Van presents a unique challenge, so he doesn't want to get ahead of himself when thinking about a potential move up. Plus, it's not all on him; Dvalishvili has to win his next title defense against Cory Sandhagen, which is set as the UFC 320 co-main event on Oct. 4. "Of course, why not think about that (fight)?" Pantoja said. "Roll the dice. Next fight, I have a fight to fight. Merab have a fight too. It's a good fight. Sandhagen's not an easy guy, bro. It's about Merab too. Merab needs to win his fight too. ... It's a good fight. It's gonna be a banger, this fight. I'm excited to watch."
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Merab Dvalishvili a lock for 2025 Fighter of the Year? UFC analyst explains why he isn't
Outside of UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, Chael Sonnen still sees several fighters in the running to be Fighter of the Year. Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) is currently one of the frontrunners for 2025 Fighter of the Year after title defenses over Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January and a finish of Sean O'Malley at UFC 316 in June. Dvalishvili won the "Best UFC Fighter" at the most recent ESPYs last month, but Sonnen isn't ready to give him the Fighter of the Year award just yet. "Fighter of the Year is going to be very tough," Sonnen told MMA Junkie. "It's very tough. Merab has done a very good job, but to get in front of Ilia (Topuria)? There's a buzz around Ilia that's almost unlike anything I ever felt. (Khamzat) Chimaev is going to be of interest. Should Alex Pereira come back and get it over (Magomed) Ankalaev. No, Merab doesn't have it locked up. A lot of that list comes down to popularity, which Merab has now. "That dude is a star. I was at International Fight Week. The mobs and the crowd, they mobbed everyone through there. Dana (White) himself got more, but for active fighters, the crowd and the interest, Merab could not move around. He is over. He is very popular, and people are going to vote for him. But no, activity alone, no, it will not get you Fighter of the Year." Dvalishvili, who is currently scheduled to defend his belt against Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in the UFC 320 co-main event on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas, has plans of squeezing one more title defense before the end of the year. "That's very impressive (if he can get a fourth title defense in 2025)," Sonnen said. "Those stats do matter. Any time you're setting history, it moves you to the front of the list. Merab is a wonderful person. That's a nice man behind all this. One thing that takes fighters off their perch quickly is when they start believing what's being said about them. They go to practice a little less. You don't meet better people as you become bigger and better in life. You meet a higher quality scumbag. ... It doesn't seem like Merab is falling for any of that. He's in Las Vegas, which is a very difficult place to not meet a lot of scumbags. He seems very focused. He seems to know who he is. He seems to be still be hungry. I think he deserves credit for that. I think one thing that would help Merab is if people got to know him more. "He really is a kind gentleman. You can't say that about a lot of fighters. Most of them are scumbags, too. He's in a different category. I only bring that up because of his popularity and where it could go. If people simply get to know him, if he finds a way to get his message out, he comes across what he is, which is very nice, but he's so nice that people think it's an act. But it's not. So if he does a little bit more time, I would love to see Merab coach 'The Ultimate Fighter.' ... I think that kind of exposure where people got him in the living room every day, I think Merab has the potential to be the top draw in the sport. That's a big claim for a 135 pounder. But O'Malley had it. It can definitely be done." To hear more from Sonnen, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
USA Today
27-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Petr Yan not interested in Umar Nurmgomedov next, wants UFC 320 backup spot
ABU DHABI – Petr Yan dismissed the idea of fighting Umar Nurmagomedov next. Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) made it three-straight wins after defeating Marcus McGhee in Saturday's UFC on ABC 9 co-main event at Etihad Arena. Yan was asked about the possibility of facing Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) next, but after their initial planned booking in June fell through, he's no longer interested. "Right now, I'm not interested in fighting Umar in November in Qatar," Yan told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at the post-fight news conference. "I was offered a fight against him in Baku, Azerbaijan. I accepted it; they couldn't accept it. Then I asked for July, they also couldn't make it. Right now, I'm only focused on a title shot." Merab Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defends his bantamweight title against Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in the UFC 320 co-headliner on Oct. 4 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Yan's most recent loss came to Dvalishvili in March 2023, and he hopes to get the opportunity to avenge that setback. "Obviously, I prefer to rematch Merab to see how I'll do against him when I'm healthy," Yan said. "But, Cory's also a great fighter, interesting fighter. I had a great fight with him. I believe they're going to have a good fight, but I just believe Merab's pressure is going to be a key factor. At some point, Cory's going to fade."
USA Today
26-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Sean O'Malley: Cory Sandhagen will be surprised how strong Merab Dvalishvili is at UFC 320
Sean O'Malley knows how stern of a test UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is. Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) will look to notch his third title defense when he takes on Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in the UFC 320 co-main event on Oct. 4 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. O'Malley is coming off a submission loss to Dvalishvili at UFC 316 – his second-straight loss to the champion. He says he learned the hard way the Georgian champion is deceptive. "How do I see that fight playing out? It's interesting, a striker vs. wrestler matchup," O'Malley said on his YouTube channel. "I fought Merab twice, beat him once, lost to him once, just kidding. Cory's got really good wrestling scrambles. He did really good against Umar (Nurmagomedov). He kept his hips high. He was able to scramble very well. I wouldn't say he really gassed, but he definitely got a little bit tired, whereas Merab, he just doesn't get tired. He really just doesn't, and he's freakishly strong. Very curious to see how those scrambles go. If Cory's well versed in the 50-50 (position), the leg game. "So, I'm curious if he will cause scrambles that way, maybe threaten some submissions that way to where Merab gets uncomfortable and maybe shoots less. As a striker, Cory and I have very similar styles in a sense, hard to take down, good timing. Watching Merab on the screen, not having him in front of you, you think he looks kind of sloppy. He looks like you're going to be able to stuff his shots or not even be there when he shoots, but that little Georgian finds a way under your shots. Even if you don't throw punches, he finds a way, and he's got really sneaky timing and good entrances. When he gets a hold of you, I feel like he's gotten better at getting a hold of people and not letting them up and disengaging." O'Malley leans towards Dvalishvili, but won't count out Sandhagen, who he called one of the most skilled guys in the UFC. "It's hard for me to wrap my head, I think it's a f*cking coin flip," O'Malley added. "I think, if I had to guess, I feel like Merab. If Merab goes out there and grabs a hold of him, I think Cory's going to be surprised how strong that little Georgian feels. But also, I could be completely wrong. Cory could go out there and hit some beautiful scrambles and completely make Merab look silly."
USA Today
25-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Umar Nurmagomedov's coach excited to rematch a 'better' Merab Dvalishvili when time comes
ABU DHABI – Javier Mendez looks forward to game planning for an even more improved Merab Dvalishvili if Umar Nurmagomedov can rebound. Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) fell short in his title fight against bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) at UFC 311 in January. After he revealed he broke his hand early in a fight where he won the first two rounds on two of the three judges' scorecards. During Wednesday's UFC on ABC 9 media day, Petr Yan said Nurmagomedov turned down a fight for the UFC on ABC 8 headliner in Baku, Azerbaijan this past June. Mendez addressed that claim, and gave an update on Nurmagomedov, who's manager Ali Abdelaziz teased has fight news soon. "I was told about that potential matchup, we didn't care who Umar was going to fight," Mendez told MMA Junkie. "We just know we needed a tough guy for us to potentially be back in the picture, but his hand wasn't healed enough to be cleared to go that early. So, we're expecting Umar to be fighting very soon and before the end of the year. I'm preparing to go to camp at the end of this month with Usman (Nurmagomedov). "Usman is defending his title at Coca Cola Arena here against an opponent to be named. I don't know who it is, but I'm sure it's going to be somebody really good. ... Within that training camp, it'll be Umar and Islam (Makhachev), and all the other guys will be in there too. I'll be with all the boys starting August, I'll be in Dagestan in Khabib (Nurmagomedov)'s new gym up in the mountains." Mendez has been super impressed with the improvement shown by Dvalishvili, who notched his second title defense when he submitted Sean O'Malley at UFC 316. "It was a great fight, it was super, super close," Mendez said on Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov. "Unfortunately, things didn't end up going our way, and Merab did a fantastic job. Since then, Merab has gone on to do an unbelievable job. He's gotten better, and I love that. "I love that he's gotten better because if we get another opportunity, we got to get by whoever they give us next. But if we get another opportunity at Merab, I want a better Merab. I don't want an old Merab, I want a better Merab, and that's what we're getting. We're getting a better Merab. Last fight was so, so impressive. I'm looking forward to that challenge if we can get by our next opponent." Mendez broke down what he tactically thinks Nurmagomedov did wrong in his first-career defeat to Dvalishvili. "A big mistake was not telling Khabib and I that he broke his hand because we would have changed the game plan completely," Mendez said. "I keep going back thinking, and I go, God dammit, why didn't I ask him, 'Why did you go in for the takedown?' Because Merab was super strong. Why would you try to go for a takedown when that was not a good idea? "He wasn't in a weak position, but he went in to shoot for a takedown. It hit me. Why – and I still to this day haven't spoken to Umar – was it that when you broke your hand? I'm not sure. The hand broke, but it is what it is. Fighters break hands, they break toes, and they fight and they win."
