“You Behave Like a Champion”: Teddy Atlas Hails Merab Dvalishvili for Using His Success to Give Back to the Community

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili came from nothing. He started as an army man in Georgia and then worked as a construction worker while training in MMA to pursue his dream of joining the UFC. And now that he’s the champion, he wants to give back to his country and his people as much as he can. And that, according to legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, makes him a real champion. 

Dvalishvili was gifted a serious amount of money from the Georgian government for winning the title at UFC: Noche. But instead of spending the money on himself, Merab had declared his intentions of putting it towards helping the local community and investing towards the development of MMA and other combat sports clubs across the country.

Highlighting this as a rare quality in fighters, Atlas pointed out that a lot of people could fight like they were champions but not all of them can behave like one in real life. 

The 68-year-old had Dvalishvili on for an interview where he congratulated him on being able to walk in both worlds. 

“You’re a good man. You’re a champion. For me it’s more important to also congratulate you on the way that you behave like a champion in and out of the cage. Because to me that catches my attention… That’s why I respect you,” Atlas said.

While the UFC is notorious for not paying a fair share of their profits to their fighters, it’s still not a lot compared to what their counterparts in boxing and other prominent combat sports make. But it’s still a pretty big amount.

How much did Merab get for winning the title?

When Merab defeated O’Malley, he became the first UFC champion to have been born and raised in Georgia. Sure, Ilia Topuria already held the featherweight title but he spends all his in Spain and fights from there as well.

His title fight against O’Malley was being broadcast to the public on the streets so they could congregate and celebrate every punch and every takedown. So, when Merab landed at the airport, it was a celebration.

It was even better than the time when he went back there after having defeated the legendary Jose Aldo. Merab was swarmed by fans and could hardly walk through the crowd without someone trying to hug him.

He then received a generous gift of 1 million Georgian Lari for his performance at the Las Vegas Sphere.

This amounts to $367,666 in US dollars. Well, good for Mera! Nobody deserves it more.