Former UFC champ wants Merab Dvalishvili to move up and challenge Alexander Volkanovski

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 submitted 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, and former middleweight champion Michael Bisping wants to see "The Machine" move up to the featherweight division to challenge 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski.

"If everyone's going to jump around weight classes, if Khamzat Chimaev is going to fight [Alex] Pereira, if Pereira's going to fight Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall, Conor McGregror can do it without defending a belt. Islam Makhachev wants to go up. Ilia Topuria wants to go up. Why can't Merab Dvalishvili go up when he's beaten everyone in the Top 10 pretty much. He's lapping the division," Bisping said on his YouTube channel.

"Tell me that you don't want to see a fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Merab Dvalishvili. That would be incredible. I would absolutely love to see that fight," continued Bisping. 

Volkanovski is unanimously considered the greatest featherweight champion in UFC history. While he has new faces emerging as title contenders, none would be as big of a fight as one against Dvalishvili. 

"Now, or course, at 145, Volkanovski needs some contenders because he has gone through everyone. I mean, yes, there is the fight with Movsar Evloev. There is the fight with Lerone Murphy. Diego Lopes is making noise to fight Volkanovski again. That was the last person that Volkanovski fought and beat," Bisping said. 

"Featherweight is a stacked division, but Volkanovski's been through them all," added the former middleweight champion. "If you want to do a big fight, if you want to showcase the lighter divisions, I am telling you, Alexander Volkanovski versus Merab Dvalishvili in 2026. I've got a feeling that's going to happen."