Reigning UFC bantamweight kingpin Merab Dvalishvili recently appeared on the Pound 4 Pound podcast and revealed his fight plans for 2026. ‘The Machine’ also took a dig at his former opponent, Umar Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili has defended his strap three times already in 2025. He first beat Umar in January, then submitted Sean O’Malley in a rematch in June, and made a quick turnaround to beat Cory Sandhagen in October. ‘The Machine’ will defend his gold for the fourth time in 2025 as he pursues the UFC record of fourth successful title defense within a calendar year.