The sky’s the limit now for Merab Dvalishvili. With the way the division is shaping up and the way he’s dispatching opponents with ease, it doesn’t seem like we’re going to have another bantamweight champion anytime soon.
In simple words, the Georgian just can’t stop winning. On Saturday night, he put his rivalry with Sean O’Malley to bed by choking the former champ out and beating him for the second time. He’s now running thin on opponents to fight in the division.
But this win also marked an important milestone for the champion. With his UFC 316 win, he is now on a 13-fight winning streak, joining the elite company of Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
An impressed ‘Bones’ shared the Georgian’s achievement on his Instagram story, basically giving him his flowers for yet another dominant performance. ‘The Machine’ has just cemented his name as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, bantamweight champion of all time.
Jon Jones congratulates Merab Dvalishvili pic.twitter.com/UcKAyC96Lv
— THE UFCGUY (@the_ufcguy) June 8, 2025
In fact, even Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, who watched the action octagon side, chimed in on the GOAT debate and called ‘The Machine’ the greatest bantamweight of all time, irrevocably.
But it’s not just his performances that are earning him praise. The champion is also winning hearts outside the octagon.
Merab Dvalishvili gifts Aljamain Sterling his purse
‘The Machine’ felt immensely grateful following his UFC 316 victory. He thanked Donald Trump and his supporters for attending to show their support. But the man that he could not thank enough was Aljamain Sterling. He credited ‘Funkmaster’ for being the sole reason that he was on stage with the belt wrapped around his waist.
During his post-fight press conference, the champion made another shocking revelation to the media and the fans. “I’m grateful for my friend Aljamain Sterling and I tell him today, I have to split my bonus and give him half, let’s go brother. That will be my wedding gift.”
Merab Dvalishvili says he’s giving half of his bonus to Aljamain Sterling as a wedding gift after tonight’s victory — brotherhood at its finest! #UFC316
:@ufc pic.twitter.com/LvJbak71N6
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) June 8, 2025
The champ is splitting his $50,000 performance bonus with ‘Aljo’, which makes it a $25,000 wedding gift. Add to that the fact that the pair bought houses just opposite each other.
‘The Machine‘ continued winning hearts even after he left the arena. Footage of him stopping on the side of the road to meet his Georgian fans went viral on social media. With fans calling him ‘The People’s Champ’.
The UFC desperately needs a champion like Dvalishvili at the moment, a champion who doesn’t say no to any opponent, is active, and someone that the fans love.
