Merab Dvalishvili holds a press conference in Georgia, plans to open up martial arts gyms across the country.
2024 has been a truly historical year for Georgian sports. In the span of the last six months, a second (!) UFC Championship belt has been brought to the country. The first one — arrived in late March, swung over the shoulder of Ilia Topuria. Now, two weeks after winning his own belt at Noche UFC, Merab Dvalishvili has proudly lifted the 11-pound trophy in front of a large crowd on the main streets of the capital, Tbilisi.
On September 30th, at 11 AM local time, Dvalishvili held an official press conference for the members of the Georgian media. Having attended the event, I came to understand exactly why “The Machine” is so adored by his fellow countrymen, most of whom are far from what we can call ‘MMA fans’.
Not only was Dvalishvili (who, mind you, had traveled half-way across the world the day before) extremely humble and energetic with his responses, but he also stayed on location for about an hour after the press conference had ended, taking pictures with fans, and signing posters and T-shirts.
But Merab’s willingness to give back to his country and its people became apparent long before that — during the presser itself when Dvalishvili made the following statement regarding his future plans:
I have big plans in Georgia. I want to start a charity and open small gyms across the country, in the regions and villages. Jiu-jitsu and wrestling gyms, where kids will have a chance to train. I literally just found out on my way here that the Georgian government is giving me and Ilia [Topuria] 1 million GEL (*around $365,000). I am very thankful and will put all of this money into my charity to promote the development of MMA in Georgia. So that we can have more UFC belts, as well as other awards and success stories in sports like wrestling and jiu-jitsu.”
Of course, Dvalishvili was asked plenty of questions regarding his past and future opponents, upcoming title defense, etc. Below see a brief summary of the discussed topics, as well as some additional quotes that were given to the press by the newly-minted UFC Bantamweight Champion.
When asked to comment on manager Ali Abdelaziz’s tweet that Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov is a ‘done deal’, Dvalishvili replied:
“The UFC hasn’t officially contacted me regarding my first title defense yet. A lot of people are starting to talk, everyone will be trying to get my attention. Umar will probably be the next one facing me for the title, as he seems to have a lot of support right now. [Dagestani fighters] usually don’t fight during Ramadan, so it will most likely be before that. Maybe in the Spring — February or March.
I have actually already started my preparations. My training partner, Dennis Buzukja, has traveled here with me from America. I’m training with him as I normally would — wherever I can. Sometimes it’s at the hotel, sometimes it’s somewhere outdoors, in the field… In other words, I’m not stopping. If you see me outside, fighting in the streets, please, don’t get involved or break us apart, we’re just training.”
As far as the origin of the ‘war of words’ that’s been going on between himself and Nurmagomedov, Dvalishvili gave his side of the story:
I supported [Umar] at the start of his UFC career. I can’t say that we were close friends or anything, but we were friendly with each other. I understand that the UFC is pushing him [as the next contender] but I also feel disrespect from his side. It feels like he’s almost being insulting to me, which is annoying. For example, whatever he tweeted yesterday is a lie — and there’s no point in talking to a liar…
But what annoys me about Umar is that I don’t feel respected by him. He doesn’t show me any respect, while I believe that I’ve achieved certain things in this sport. I fought José Aldo and I showed him respect. I’d have even been happy for him if he’d beaten me. I showed respect to Henry Cejudo… But then he started to joke about me, so I did the same. Sure, there was some trash talk but it was done jokingly. Even with [Sean] O’Malley — he was the only guy that I actually wanted to fight because he wouldn’t say my name. We fought, we shook hands, and we went our separate ways. It’s a normal thing: [we are fighters], we will fight, someone will win, someone will lose, and that’s it. If [Sean] wants to fight me in the future — no problem. But in the case of Umar, he’s just making me mad.
As a fighter, he’s a strong opponent. And I will approach a fight with him - as with any future contender — seriously.
When asked what he feels his legacy is after completing his long dream of becoming the UFC Champion, Dvalishvili wants to be a source of motivation and inspiration for the future generations of mixed martial artists:
“I had my first fight back in 2009. I started fully training in MMA in 2010. So it’s been 14 years since I began my career. As for my legacy in the sport… We have finally gotten the belt. From here on, every fight will naturally attract a lot of attention. But now I am in a place that a few years ago I couldn’t even dream of. I originally arrived in the U.S. with big dreams and ambitions… However, those fell apart in just a matter of days. After this, it has been a constant battle with myself [to get to where I’m at now]. But, most importantly, today you can see that anything is possible, as long as you work hard, stay patient, and keep moving in the direction of your goals. This should be a motivation for any MMA athlete out there, whether they are a pro or a beginner.“
