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Dana White provides positive update on first UFC event in a champion’s home country

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Kyle Dimond | Last updated Oct 24, 2025 12:11 PM ET

Dana White is always trying to take the UFC to new places and locations that they haven’t visited in a while.

While this will certainly be the case with the White House event in 2026, the final three PPV cards of this year will be hosted in very familiar locations.

The Friday weigh-ins have set the stage for UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi this weekend, with a trip to New York following it in November before coming back to Las Vegas in December.

There are multiple current UFC champions who have spoken about wanting to bring the Octagon to their home country for the very first time.

One of those stars, who recently had his wish granted by White, could get the homecoming that he wants following a new update.

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Dana White spoke about bringing the UFC to Georgia in a recent meeting

Merab Dvalishvili hasn’t always had the best relationship with Dana White, but that has changed over time.

The UFC bantamweight champion’s attitude towards fighting regularly and wanting to break records has seen him quickly become one of the top titleholders on the roster.

With his rematch with Petr Yan at UFC 323 coming up in December, the champion’s next challenger after that could be decided this weekend following White’s comments at the press conference.

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‘The Machine’ may be about to become the first fighter in UFC history to put his belt on the line four times in a calendar year, but there are still other goals that he has in mind.

White was recently asked about bringing the Octagon to new places and the homes of the current champions in an interview with TNT Sports.

The UFC president went on to speak about how they have been talks about a UFC event in Georgia, which could benefit both Dvalishvili and Ilia Topuria.

“I was literally at a meeting today and there was a guy there who was from the government of Georgia and he’s literally like, ‘I want to talk to you guys. I want to bring a fight to Georgia.’ Literally happened this afternoon at a meeting I was at earlier. So yeah, I’d like to take him home too… No brainers.”

Dana White was highly critical of Merab Dvalishvili in the past

After the main event of UFC 322 was made official, Dana White spoke about how he’s ‘warmed’ to Merab Dvalishvili over the years.

The UFC president had been highly critical of the Georgian bantamweight in the past for several reasons.

Speaking in 2023, White questioned “why did you even get into this sport if that’s your mentality?” in response to Dvalishvili not wanting to challenge his long-time friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling for the 135 pound title.

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White had a similar reaction when he was asked about Tom Aspinall not wanting to fight his teammate Ante Delija, with the heavyweight champion claiming that he’d vacate the belt if that happened.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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