Former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has praised Merab Dvalishvili’s toughness at UFC 323. Dvalishvili’s fourth defense of his 135-pound championship was unsuccessful in 2025, with Petr Yan playing spoiler in the rematch.
Yan came out as the more accurate striker and bloodied the 34-year-old up. The challenger also scored his own takedowns and stopped many of Dvalishvili’s. In the end, ‘No Mercy’ secured a unanimous decision victory and with that, became a two-time bantamweight kingpin.
The commentators at UFC 323 noted that each time the Georgian took a shot to the liver, he was in excruciating pain and reacted. However, he did not slow down.
Now, Belal Muhammad has praised ‘The Machine’ for his toughness. ‘Remember the Name’ says most fighters after taking such shots either collapse or quit. But the Georgian remained standing.
“Real fighters know when you get hit in the liver, 90% of guys drop to a knee and fold. He was making noises, but he was still standing. He had no quit in him; he was going all the way to the end.”
Check out Belal Muhammad’s comments below:
After the loss, the UFC has promised Merab Dvalishvili a title rematch for his next fight once he has recovered and is ready to go.
Aljamain Sterling reveals what Merab Dvalishvili’s UFC 323 game Plan was
After Merab Dvalishvili’s title loss, the latter’s longtime friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling pointed out the main reason behind Dvalishvili not performing to his full potential. Sterling thinks that ‘The Machine’ did not get enough time to warm up before the fight, as the co-main event of UFC 323 ended just a couple of seconds into round 1.
Sterling also revealed that the approach Petr Yan had to attack the body was also planned for Dvalishvili. ‘Funk Master’ said:
“When Yan started going to his body, we were like, Hey, you can go to the body too. Just the same combinations we work on in the room that you and John Wood work on, it’s there. And we worked on when he covers up, and you start throwing those punches, and he’s starting to think that you’ll sit and strike with him… That’s when you rip the body, and then he drops his hands; you can start to look for the takedowns.”
Check out Aljamain Sterling’s comments about Merab Dvalishvili’s title loss below: