Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Dvalishvili (Georgian: მერაბ დვალიშვილი [ˈmerab ˈdʷaliʃʷili]; born January 10, 1991) is a Georgian and American professional mixed martial artist and sambo practitioner. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Bantamweight Champion. Dvalishvili is considered one of the greatest Bantamweights of all time. He is also the first Georgian-born champion in UFC history. As of May 12, 2026, he is #1 in the Meta UFC bantamweight rankings, and as of July 14, 2026, he is #8 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. Dvalishvili's UFC career began with two losses against Frankie Saenz and Ricky Simón. After that, he had a 14-fight win streak—the fourth longest in UFC history—defeating former champions, including José Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo and Sean O'Malley. His 119 successful takedowns are the most in UFC history; he is also third all-time in total strikes landed.