Ahead of his return to action this weekend in the main event of Noche UFC at the massive Las Vegas Sphere, surging bantamweight challenger, Merab Dvalishvili carries a minnow nation on his back into his premiere title charge in the promotion — namely the region of Tbilisi, Georgia. So let’s take a look into where is Merab Dvalishvili from.
Dvalishvili, the current number one ranked bantamweight contender, is slated to headline this weekend’s huge Noche UFC pay-per-view card in a reported once-off Las Vegas Sphere event, challenging the incumbent, Sean O’Malley.
Most recently featuring on the main card of UFC 298 back in February in Anaheim, California, surging challenger, Dvalishvili landed an impressive unanimous decision win over former two-weight champion and Olympic gold medal winner, Henry Cejudo — earning his premiere title charge.
Currently in the midst of an impressive 10-fight winning spree, amongst his stunning list of victories, Dvalishvili has dispatched the likes of the above-mentioned, Cejudo, as well as Marlon Moraes, and former championship winning duo, Petr Yan, and Jose Aldo.
Where is Merab Dvalishvili from?
Hailing from Tbilisi — which is the capital of Georgia, Dvalishvili came as an influx of other Georgian talent, including middleweight contender, Roman Dolidze, and Guram Kutateladze. And ahead of Noche UFC this weekend, Dvalishvili will look to follow in the footsteps of compatriot and Spaniard, Ilia Topuria — who is preparing for his own title fight at featherweight next month in the main event of UFC 308.
Hosting a population of over 1,114,000 as of 2016 according to the United Nations, Tbilisi — as mentioned earlier is the capital of Georgia — and is notable for it’s proximity to the trade circle of the Silk Road.
Hosting a mainly Georgian national ethnicity in Tbilisi, the region is also populated by the likes of Armenian, Russian, and Azerbaijani nationals amongst others.