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UFC legend claims Merab Dvalishvili is ‘not respecting the sport’ in shock assessment

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Jamie Theodosi | Last updated Oct 25, 2025 11:37 AM ET

UFC legend Michael Bisping has made a bold claim regarding the biggest threat to Merab Dvalishvili’s title reign.

At UFC 320 at the beginning of October, Merab Dvalishvili once again showcased why he is the greatest bantamweight of all time, dominating Cory Sandhagen on the way to another decision win.

Just a few weeks after his fight, UFC boss Dana White announced that the Georgian would be making a staggeringly quick turnaround to defend his title against Petr Yan at UFC 323, giving him the chance to make UFC history.

Not only will UFC 323 be significant because Dvalishvili will become the first fighter to defend his title four times in a calendar year, but it will mark the final PPV event on ESPN.

Michael Bisping’s critical assessment of Merab Dvalishvili

At this point, ‘The Machine’ has looked relatively untouchable throughout his championship tenure, and fans are confident that ‘No Mercy’ won’t be the one to dethrone him considering their first fight in 2022.

And that is a notion that UFC legend Michael Bisping agrees with, as he and fellow analysts ranked the top three challenges for Dvalishvili.

After highlighting a potential future featherweight fight against Alexander Volkanovski, Bisping went on to claim that the biggest challenge to Dvalishvili is himself, stating that he ‘is not respecting the sport’.

“Of course, Petr Yan is his next fight and that will be a very challenging bout of course,” Bisping said on the UFC 321 weigh-in show.

“But more importantly, his biggest opponent could be himself because he’s fighting every few months and as we said before, the training camps and the style that he has, the fact that he is going to decisions, I mean at some point you’re gonna get burned out and his biggest opponent may just be himself.

“He is not respecting the sport and the challenges,” he continued.

Dvalishvili could headline future event in Georgia

If the 34-year-old holds onto his title at UFC 323, there is potential that he will take some time off before his next fight.

Recently, White stated that he is hoping to put on an event in Georgia, allowing Dvalishvili the opportunity to headline an event in his home country, which would be the first in the region.

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

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