According to UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili, neither the man from whom he took the title nor the one he recently defended it against come close to being among his toughest opposition.
Dvalishvili has been on a tear in recent years, winning 10 straight to finally earn a shot at the 135-pound gold on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage, capturing it from Sean O’Malley, and retaining it at the expense of previously undefeated Dagestani Umar Nurmagomedov.
Prior to his championship bouts, the Georgian got past a trio of former champions in José Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo. And interestingly, Dvalishvili places all three above “Suga” and Nurmagomedov in terms of opponent difficulty.
The reigning champion recently ranked his past five foes from easiest to hardest in a video uploaded to X by @judobetter995. He placed the man he defeated at UFC 311 this year, Nurmagomedov, in fifth. The bantamweight he dethroned inside the Sphere last September didn’t fare much better, coming in at fourth.
Judging by the list, Dvalishvili’s toughest bout of the five came in August 2022, when he outpointed Aldo at UFC 278 in Salt Lake City. The manner of victory was widely criticized, and perhaps contributed to the Georgian having to defeat both Yan and Cejudo before getting his opportunity at the strap.
