Blind ranking his top-10 UFC fighters ever, bantamweight king, Merab Dvalishvili has certainly divided fan opinion with his placements. Dvalishvili, the current bantamweight champion, currently sits at number five in the promotion’s official pound-for-pounds rankings at the time of publication.
And riding a stunning run of consecutive wins, the Georgian has been linked with a massive fighting return — potentially at featherweight next. However, during his time away from the Octagon, Dvalishvili has compiled his own top-10 UFC fighters ranking list.
Raising some eyebrows with his controversial listings, the Georgian has been blasted on social media — for one pick in particular. He placed former champion, Henry Cejudo quite high on his list. So high, that he is above both Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“Merab (Dvalishvili) selected ten fighters without prior knowledge,” Adjarabet.com posted on Instagram.
And receiving flak for placing Cejudo at number five, Dvalishvili — most criminally placed both McGregor and Khabib below the Olympian, respectively.
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Furthermore, understandably placing compatriot Ilia Topuria atop the list, some other additions are dubious, to say the least. Placing ex-champion, Kamaru Usman at number 10 in the pile, a fan commented, “Prime Usman is easily top 3.” in disagreement.
Affording ex-foe, Jose Aldo a spot at number four, Dvalishvili then put Jones as number two in his list, to more disgust.
“What kind of ranking is this?” A user on Instagram questioned. But notably, fans seem to be upset with Khabib’s placing the most.
“Khabib who can crush you and everyone in the app in one evening. Khabib who will haunt you until death. It is difficult and impossible for you to reach his level. You (sic) nobody.”
And it seems Merab is not the only one who has raised eyebrows with his rankings and take on fighters recently. UFC president Dana White has as well.
Dana White argues Alex Pereira may top P4P pile after UFC 313
Also on his controversial list comes UFC 313 main event star, Alex Pereira. Ranked as low as eighth on Dvalishvili’s list, the Brazilian is above just Alexandre Pantoja and Usman.
And while Merab is entitled to his opinion, however controversial, UFC boss Dana White made a stunning claim on Wednesday.
Set to battle Magomed Ankalaev this weekend, Pereira may topple Islam Makhachev from the promotion’s pound-for-pound list. Especially if he can dispatch massive rival, Ankalaev in notable fashion.
“He’s (Alex Pereira) one of the biggest stars in the sport right now. If not the biggest star in the sport,” White said on First Take.
“What makes this weekend great is Ankalaev is a very serious threat to him. This is probably the toughest fight he’s ever had. His team always talks about his takedown defense. And that the fans don’t really know how good it is. We’re going to find out how good it is this weekend.
“This is a tough fight for Alex. Alex comes out of this the way he’s come out of every other fight, he might be the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.”
Well on his way to a rise in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, Dvalishvili will have to usurp a host of talent en route to the top. But as far as fans are concerned, his own rankings are suspect at the very least.
