Ilia Topuria knows what it’s like to go through a difficult time. If a few days ago it was Merab Dvalishvili who sent messages of support to his compatriot and friend to support him in this difficult moment in his life, today the situation has been reversed. And that’s it Former bantamweight champion lost belt to Russian Petr Yan in the main event of UFC 323.
The Matador sent a direct message to your friend Dvalishvili just a few hours ago on their social networks. “Brother, life is full of twists and turns, but for us you will always be the best. You will come back much stronger,” Topuria posted.
Merab was proclaimed 135-pound champion in September 2024 and during this year He successfully defended his belt up to three times.. First against one of his most direct rivals, Umar Nurmagomedov, then again against Sean O’Malley and just two months ago against Cory Sandhagen.
The indisputable superiority of The machine against these rivals he did propose a historical challenge: Make the most title defenses in a calendar year. For this challenge, Merab faced an old rival, the Russian Petr Yan, whom he had already beaten in his title race in 2023. However, fate is capricious and in the main fight of the last numbered evening of the UFC year The former Russian champion was far superior to the Georgian in all respects.
For now The era of two simultaneous Georgian champions in the UFC endsalthough it is to be expected that Merab will have the opportunity to reclaim the belt in a trilogy that promises a great spectacle before the new bantamweight monarch.
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