On Saturday night at UFC 320, Merab Dvalishvili stamped his place as, arguably, the greatest UFC bantamweight of all time. In his third defense of his title, he again dominated with his relentless wrestling and endless gas time. This time, it was against fan-favorite Cory Sandhagen. The successful title defense was also his 14th straight win.
Dvalishvili seems unbeatable at 135 pounds. However, he is nowhere close to retiring and needs more competition. With that in mind, let's look at four potential options for Merab Dvalishvili's next fight.
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Former bantamweight king Petr Yan is one of the many fighters on Dvalishvili's hit list. However, the Russian did offer solid resistance in their 2023 fight. Unlike Sean O'Malley , he has good takedown defense, and he offers a greater power threat on the feet than Umar Nurmagomedov and Cory Sandhagen. While he lost to him previously, Yan is still a stiff challenge for those reasons and has earned another crack at gold.
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Dvalishvili is not the only dominant UFC champion right now. Alexandre Pantoja has defended his UFC flyweight belt four times and is in the middle of an eight-fight win streak. There really is not much more for him to do at 125 pounds, and there isn't an overwhelming option for his next defense. With 2025 being all about champions relinquishing belts to move up and fight for another, a clash between maybe the best flyweight ever against the bantamweight GOAT makes sense.
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During his dominant hot streak, Umar Nurmagomedov has been Dvalishvili's toughest test and won the first two rounds on two judges' cards. If he could have gotten a third, he would be a world champion right now. However, the champs' legendary cardio was the difference maker. Of his many former opponents, Nurmagomedov is one of the most deserving of another opportunity.
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Instead of Pantoja moving up to face Dvalishvili, maybe the 135-pound king is the one who decides he has done all he can and wants to move up to fight for featherweight gold. A scrap between him and the current king of 145 pounds, Alexander Volkanovski , is a dream fight to many and should appeal to both men.
The big issue is Merab Dvalishvili's bestie, Aljamain Sterling, left 135 so his friend can make a run at the belt. Going up to featherweight and skipping the line on him might be something Dvalishvili would not be comfortable with.
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