Merab Dvalishvili explains why he would never consider fighting Ilia Topuria

Merab Dvalishvili says he wouldn't move up to 145 pounds to fight Ilia Topuria, saying Ilia “destroys” him in sparring

He also says he could potentially move down to flyweight, but doubts he will ever fight for a flyweight belt.

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13 September 2024

Merab Dvalishvili has no plans to move up to featherweight to challenge Ilia Topuria for the 145-pound title.

Dvalishvili will get his long-awaited shot at bantamweight gold against Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 306 on Saturday at The Sphere in Las Vegas. “The Machine” has a chance to become the second Georgian to win a UFC title after Topuria, who knocked out Alexander Volkanovski last February to be crowned featherweight champion at UFC 298.

O'Malley has long planned to move up to featherweight to challenge Topuria for the title if he beats Dvalishvili on Saturday, but Dvalishvili is comfortable at his current weight class and has no such ambitions.

Speaking of possible advancement, Dvalishvili absolutely rejects the idea of ​​fighting his good friend. Although Topuria is six years younger than the 33-year-old Dvalishvili, “The Machine” likes him because of his intelligence and good character. Dvalishvili also admits that he was humiliated by “El Matador” during sparring.

Although Dvalishvili is not opposed to the idea of ​​moving up to featherweight for a few fights, he doubts he is ready to compete at the highest level in the 145-pound division. The bantamweight would rather consider moving down to flyweight with a strict diet in the future.

“Never. I will never fight Ilia,” Dvalishvili said on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. “First of all, he's my brother. I really love him. He's really younger than me, but he's smart and a very good guy. A family man and a good friend of mine. I will never fight him. I sparred with him and he destroyed me. He's stronger than me. I'm not afraid to fight, but Ilia is my friend, Georgian, and I will never fight him. And I feel very comfortable in my weight class here at 135.
[pounds]. I don't think I'm going to fight for the belt. That's not going to happen. I can have a few matches, yes, I will. But to fight against something like that [Alexander] Volkanovski, Max Holloway, I'm not confident yet. Maybe one day when I start the diet I can even lose 125 [pounds].”

Topuria will defend his title against former champion Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308 on October 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Dvalishvili is riding a 10-fight winning streak, the longest in UFC bantamweight history, with wins over Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan and Jose Aldo.