Off the back of his UFC 311 victory, Merab Dvalishvili has been branded the greatest bantamweight fighter of all-time by former two-weight champion and prior-foe, Henry Cejudo — who lauded the Georgian after his victory against Umar Nurmagomedov over the weekend.
Dvalishvili, the current undisputed bantamweight titleholder, co-headlined UFC 311 over the course of the weekend, landing a one-sided unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) victory over the then-unbeaten challenger, Nurmagomedov.
The victory came as the Georgian’s second in a title fight — after making light work of former champion, Sean O’Malley back in September in the main event of Noche UFC at the Las Vegas Sphere to win the bantamweight championship.
And welcoming the chance to take on Montana striker, O’Malley again in the future — Dvalishvili was labelled as the bantamweight greatest to offer by former foe, Cejudo — who pointed to his resume.
Yeah, I have no idea [who I will fight next],” Merab Dvalishvili told Ariel Helwani for Uncrowned. “But it looks like, I guess, yes, it looks like maybe he is my next opponent, but who knows? I want to fight for the best option, whoever is the best next, and I just want to be busy.”
“Yes, sir. I will fight Sean again if UFC asks me to do it,” Merab Dvalishvili explained.
Merab Dvalishvili branded bantamweight GOAT by Henry Cejudo
“You have to,” Henry Cejudo said when asked by Pound-for-Pound podcast host if Dvalishvili can be considered the greatest in his division. “[Petr] Yan, [Sean] O’Malley, Cejudo, Umar, [Marlon] Moraes, [Jose] Aldo, I mean, he’s fought everybody. He’s fought everybody. He’s beat everybody in this division you can say in their prime.
“Merab is the bantamweight GOAT, at least in my eyes,” Dvalishvili explained. “He only has one title defense, but the people who he has beaten is great. Great top-5 résumé, maybe in the UFC, period.” (H/T MMA Fighting)
