Merab Dvalishvili's 2024 plan includes three world title fights in the first third of the year, starting on January 18.
He will defend his world bantamweight title at UFC 311 in the co-headliner at the new Intuit Dome in Los Angeles against Umar Nurmagomedov. And should he get the win, he plans to return soon to take on Petr Yan before taking on Sean O'Malley again a few weeks later.
All this would see him make an unprecedented three world title defenses between January and April. It would be the most active period for a champion in recent memory, even surpassing Alex Pereira's stunning run from last year.
Merab Dvalishvili wants three world title fights in four months
Throughout his first few months as champion, Merab Dvalishvili has maintained that he believes Nurmagomedov is not a legitimate contender for his title. He would have preferred to give his first chance to Yan, who defeated Deiveson Figueiredo in November to secure his place back at the top of the division.
Speaking to the official UFC YouTube channel, the bantamweight champion noted that he believes he can get through Nurmagomedov with ease. This would allow him to fight again a few weeks later, before building to a huge rematch with O'Malley, and birthing a new contender.
“I want to be busy in 2025,” he said. “I'm fighting early, on January 18, and I want to be busy. I know O'Malley wants to come back in April, I think Petr will be ready in March. So maybe you fight Petr in March and rematch Sean in April. And whoever the next contender is, I will clean up the division again.
Merab Dvalishvili compares himself to Jon Jones and Mike Tyson
Despite being a star on the rise, Dvalishvili seems to have a very high opinion of his own star power and appeal. He tried to use this as a defense against another contender before conceding to the UFC that he should face Nurmagomedov.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
And in the same interview, he claimed that his pre-fight drama made him comparable to Jon Jones and Mike Tyson. “The last few fights I've been getting a lot of attention,” he noted. “People recognize me, but people express hate on Instagram and social media, which is very difficult for me.
“The best way now is I just have to keep busy and argue and that's it because I would enjoy myself for a while but now I feel like I'm Conor McGregor. There's going to be a lot of drama, even Jon Jones and like Mike Tyson got a lot of drama, but it's all good.
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