Merab Dvalishvili: Dana White reveals UFC will “absolutely” take event to Georgia, eyes Merab Dvalishvili homecoming

It appears Dana White and the UFC are approaching an era of further expansion, eager to break into untapped global markets around the world, and Merab Dvalishvili might just be one of the first fighters to benefit from it.

Earlier this week, when the MMA promoter sat down with TNT Sports' Adam Catterall, White revealed that he recently had a meeting with a Georgian official about bringing the UFC to the country:

"I was literally at a meeting today, and there was a guy there who was from the government of Georgia, and he's literally like, 'I want to talk to you guys. I want to bring a fight to Georgia.' Literally happened this afternoon at a meeting I was at earlier. So, yeah, I'd like to take [Dvalishvili] home."

When Catterall further probed whether bringing a Dvalishvili-led card to Georgia and an Ilia Topuria headliner to Spain was something the promotion would consider, White responded:

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"Absolutely, no brainers."

Check out Dana White's comments on a potential UFC Georgia event below (10:00):

Dvalishvili, who last fought at UFC 320 on Oct.4, will make a quick turnaround to face Petr Yan at UFC 323 in December for his fourth bantamweight title defense of the year.

If 'The Machine' wins his next fight, he'll surpass lightweight legend Khabib Nurmagomedov for the most title defenses in a single year. The Georgian already holds the record for the most takedowns in UFC history with a staggering 117 to his name.

Merab Dvalishvili reacts to Dana White's comments on potential UFC: Georgia

Merab Dvalishvili appears more excited than ever about the prospect of bringing the UFC to his home country. After Dana White revealed he'd recently met with a Georgian official to discuss a possible event there, the bantamweight champion wasted no time in reacting.

In a collaborative post on Instagram with MMA Pros Pick, the No.3-ranked pound-for-pound fighter showed that he was game for the opportunity with a mechanical flexing arm emoji.

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's response below:

Screenshots courtesy: @merab.dvalishvili on Instagram

The 34-year-old is 21-4 in his pro career and has been one of the most active fighters in the UFC roster, having fought a staggering 16 times since signing with the promotion in 2017.

About the author

Ujwal Jain is a sports journalist who covers MMA at Sportskeeda and holds a bachelor's degree in mass communication and journalism. He has been practicing martial arts from an early age and won several accolades at national-level competitions in karate and Taekwondo. He also holds a back belt in karate. Ujwal loves fact-checking, helping out with related research, and being a fresh set of eyes for fellow writers’ articles.

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