UFC Las Vegas: Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili beats Russian Petr Yan

Tbilisi: The Georgian UFC fighter Merab Dvalishvili defeated the Russian fighter Petr Yan in the Bantamweight clash event, with the 50-45, 50-45, 50-45, by a unanimous decision. Following his victory over the World No 2, Dvalishvili chanted the name of Georgia and thanked every Georgian for supporting and cheering him up during the match. 

He also expressed his pride in being able to represent his country at such a level. Dvalishvili, when asked about the Georgian support, stated that “I am very proud to be Georgian. We are only five million, but we are strong.“

With this victory, Merab Dvalishvili has now set a record of nine victories in a row. At the same time, he established a new record for most takedown attempts in a UFC fight, with a total of 49 attempts, which was 33 previously. 

Another notable fact from the fight was using the symbol of the country was forbidden. Therefore, the Georgian fighter put the map and flag on his chest, about which he stated, “Because we were forbidden to use the symbol of the country during the battle, I put the map and the flag on my heart. I have my Georgia close to my heart.”

At the same time, he held up the honour of Georgia as well as Ukraine as he said these words from the Octagon for the whole world to hear:

Slava Ukraine!

Glory to Ukraine!

Glory to Georgia!

Glory to Freedom!

Meanwhile, social media platforms have been flooded with congratulatory messages and best wishes for the Georgian fighter.  

Merab Dvalishvili also took to his Facebook handle, where he wrote: Thank you so much to all my friends! 

I love you guys; you are the best. I won’t be able to reply to messages on social media for a few days. I hope you can understand me.”