Streaking number two ranked bantamweight contender, Merab Dvalishvili has provided an update on his timeline for a return from hand surgery, claiming he will be “1,000%” ready to compete for divisional gold against the newly-minted titleholder, Sean O’Malley at UFC 296 in December.
Dvalishvili, who held the number one rank at 135lbs before UFC 292 last weekend, saw himself slip from the divisional summit after the event’s headliner – which saw his Serra-Longo MMA training partner, Aljamain Sterling drop his championship in a second round TKO loss against the above-mentioned O’Malley.
Sidelined since he headlined a ‘Fight Night’ billed event at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada – Merab Dvalishvili improved his winning run to an impressive nine straight fights with a completely one-sided shutout unanimous decision win over former division champion, Petr Yan in a main event headliner.