Ilya Topria despatched some phrases of encouragement to Merab Dvalishvili after UFC 323.
Dvalishvili was chasing historical past in Las Vegas on Saturday. “The Machine” was about to set a brand new report for many profitable UFC title protection in a 12 months. Petr Yan had different plans when he avenged his unanimous resolution loss to Dvalishvili in 2023.
Topria and Dvalishvili have developed a robust bond because of their Georgian roots. The present UFC light-weight champion reacted to Dvalishvili’s loss on his Instagram Story.
“Brother, life is stuffed with ups and downs, however to us you might be all the time the perfect,” Topuria wrote. “I am going to come again even stronger.”
Dvalishvili efficiently defended his title 3 times. He earned unanimous resolution wins over Umar Nurmagomedov and Cory Sandhagen. Dvalishvili additionally introduced in Sean O’Malley within the rematch. Regardless of the loss to Yan, many nonetheless see Dvalishvili as a robust contender for “Fighter of the 12 months.”
As for Topuria, I’m at present on hiatus attributable to private issues. The interim UFC light-weight champion can be decided at UFC 324. Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje will conflict for gold on January twenty fourth in Las Vegas. They may headline the UFC’s debut occasion on Paramount+.
When Topria is able to return to motion, he’ll face the winner of Pimblett vs. Gaethje in a title unification bout. There was a whole lot of motion within the light-weight division. Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira are set to have a rematch on March seventh with the BMF Championship on the road.
In different lighter information, No. 6 ranked Dan Hooker is scheduled to tackle No. 8 ranked Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 325 on January thirty first. Additionally on the cardboard in Sydney is No. 9 ranked Rafael Fiziev going through No. 14 Mauricio Ruffy.
For continued updates on the UFC light-weight division, go to BJPenn.com.
