The reality of being the UFC bantamweight champion is finally setting in on Merab Dvalishvili. The Georgian fighter put his 10-fight win streak to good use last weekend as he dethroned Sean O’Malley. ‘The Machine’ was full of gratitude this past week. While he had been trolling O’Malley, the Georgian has taken some time to thank Dana White and Hunter Campbell.
In a lengthy message on X, he showed his gratitude to the UFC bosses for everything that they had done for him so far.
“I want to thank Dana White because he didn’t find me that amazing night at Ring of Combat , I might not have been a part of @ufc and would have continued my path in another organization.”
It’s been a week since I became the champion. I have been fighting for this goal for the last 14 years, and it seemed so far, difficult and impossible that I still can’t believe it. I want to thank Dana White because he didn’t find me that amazing night at Ring of Combat , I…
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) September 21, 2024
He thanked them for discovering him all those years back and giving him an opportunity to shine on the biggest MMA stage in the world.
And boy he has not disappointed anyone with his performances! From rag dolling Olympic winners to smothering the previous bantamweight champion, White’s faith in a random Georgian fighter seems to have paid off.
‘The Machine‘ has been beating the odds ever since White first saw him fight during an episode of Looking for a Fight.
How White signed Merab
Dana White has a series called ‘Looking for a fight‘, where he goes around the world looking for the best up and coming MMA talents to sign to the UFC.
His search took him to a Ring of Combat event where he hand picked a fighter named Raufeon Stots. He was excited to watch him fight since there was a lot of hype around him.
⚡️ Here’s how Dana White signed Merab Dvalishvili to the UFC.pic.twitter.com/29vI3PbrEC
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) February 11, 2024
Standing opposite him was going to be Matt Sera and Ray Longo’s pick, Merab Dvalishvili. There was a lot of anticipation surrounding the fight and rightly so.
Both Dana White and Matt Sera expected an all out war between the two fighters. However, what transpired was very different.
‘The Machine’ connected with a spinning back fist in the very first exchange of the fight to knock his opponent out cold. In that moment, White had seen enough and ended up signing him to the UFC.
And even though nobody has seen that spinning fist since, Merab’s time at the UFC has been nothing short of entertaining.
