Merab Dvalishvili Rules Out Retirement – ‘My Goal Is To Fight Until I’m 50’

UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili has declared his intent to continue competing.

Merab has quickly established himself as the most dominant force in one of the sport’s deepest divisions. The Georgian captured the title in a decisive victory over Sean O’Malley at UFC 316 in June, his second win over the American superstar. Before that, he successfully defended his belt for the first time by outclassing Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January.

As he gears up for his upcoming title defense against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 on October 4, Dvalishvili has made it clear that his ambitions extend far beyond just this one fight. Looking past Sandhagen, Dvalishvili has already pinpointed his next challenger. He recently voiced a strong desire to rematch former champion Petr Yan, a fighter he defeated by unanimous decision in 2023. Dvalishvili stated that Yan “deserves it” and that he doesn’t want to keep the Russian contender waiting for a second shot at the man who beat him. 

“My goal is to fight until I’m 50 years old. I hope I can [still] be champion at that time, but it’s impossible. I’m 34 [years old] now. 16 more years staying champion, it’s impossible. If I win, I want to turn around quick and fight in December. I will ask the UFC for a favour to give me another fight in December or even November. Petr Yan is the clear contender right now. He deserves it. I don’t want to make him wait too long,” Merab said