Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili successfully defended his title a third time at UFC 320 on Oct. 4. He tied his teammate, Aljamain Sterling, for the most consecutive title defenses in UFC bantamweight history.
Dvalishvili captured the 135-pound championship by defeating then-champion Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in September 2024. He defended the belt against Umar Nurmagomedov, then defeated O’Malley in a rematch before defeating Cory Sandhagen in the UFC 320 co-main event.
Dvalishvili holds wins over the top four ranked fighters in the division. Considering his resume and title defenses, O’Malley believes “The Machine” is the greatest bantamweight of all time.
“To beat Merab, you have to, you just have to land that shot. You have to be able to f**king snipe him,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “He was getting a little bit more reckless. The more confident he gets in his striking the more gaps it leaves open to be caught. That’s just the only (way). I don’t see really anyone beating him.”
“I don’t see anyone really beating Merab anytime soon. He needs to be clipped. He needs to be knocked out and put to sleep to beat him. I just don’t see anyone other than myself being able to do that,” continued O’Malley.
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“Merab has cemented himself greatest bantamweight of all time, obviously. He’s on a crazy win streak right now, 14. Broke a record, first to a hundred takedowns, or some sh*t, most takedowns in a five-round fight. He’s an absolute f**king machine. What a nickname for him too, just ‘The Machine.'”
Dvalishvili breaks fighters with his relentless forward pressure and takedown ability. His improving striking has added another dangerous element to his arsenal. The Georgian hasn’t lost a fight since April 2018 and wants to squeeze in another bout this year. It would be a record-breaking fourth title defense in a 12-month span.
