Dana White has grown fond of reigning UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili, a fighter now on the verge of making history.
The UFC boss and Dvalishvili didn’t always see eye to eye. White was once frustrated when “The Machine” refused to fight his close friend and longtime training partner, Aljamain Sterling. Over time, however, Dvalishvili’s relentless drive and willingness to fight anyone changed Dana White’s mind about him.
During a post-fight press conference following Tuesday’s Contender Series event, White admitted that his relationship with the bantamweight champion has never been stronger.
“I love it,” White said. “Listen, it took me a minute to warm up to Merab, but I’m very warm now. I love that mentality. He wants to be the first guy to ever defend his title that many times in a year. If you look at what he’s gone out and done, how he’s proven himself as a fighter and as a world champion, it’s impressive.”
Earlier this month, Dvalishvili successfully defended his title three times in one calendar year, defeating Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320. The victory likely secured him Fighter of the Year honors, but “The Machine” isn’t slowing down.
Dana White confirmed that Dvalishvili will make a quick turnaround to defend his title once again, this time in a rematch with Petr Yan in the main event of UFC 323 on Dec. 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. If he wins, Dvalishvili will become the first fighter in UFC history to defend a belt four times in a single year, making him a legend among the sport’s greatest champions.
In his most recent outing on Oct. 4, Dvalishvili dominated Sandhagen, earning a unanimous decision win after nearly finishing the challenger in the second round.
This recent win had many rooting for Dvalishvili and even earned his White’s respect, which was quite a change from his earlier opinion of the champ. Back when Sterling held the bantamweight title, White criticised Dvalishvili for not having an aggressive mentality towards winning. However, after watching his dominant run, the UFC president now sees “The Machine” differently.
“If you look at what he’s gone out there and done, and how he’s proven himself as a fighter and a world champion, it’s impressive,” Dana White reiterated.
Dvalishvili already holds a win over Yan from their 2021 clash, where he claimed victory by unanimous decision. Since that loss, Yan has rebounded with a three-fight win streak, defeating Song Yadong, former UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo, and Marcus McGhee.
