Merab Dvalishvili cane make himself the definitive greatest of all time at bantamweight with a UFC 333 title win, argues former champion and opponent Henry Cejudo.
There's much on the line Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (Paramount+) when current 135-pound kingpin Petr Yan (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) puts his belt on the line against Dvalishvili (21-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) in an anticipated trilogy bout.
Dvalishvili won the first meeting in March 2021 with a dominant unanimous decision victory at UFC Fight Night 221 in March 2023. Yan got his rematch at UFC 323 in December, taking a unanimous decision of his own to reclaim the belt and end Dvalishvili's 14-fight winning streak inside the octagon.
There were questions around Dvalishvili's performance in the rematch after he attempted to make history with four title defense inside a calendar year in 2025. Yan was the fourth fight in that stretch, and he was dethroned in a rather one-sided fashion. He's now had nearly 11 months to rest, recover and get himself in optimal condition for the rubber match.
With discussion about UFC 333 potentially being the most important bantamweight title fight ever, Cejudo sees significant legacy stakes in play for both men, but particularly Dvalishvili.
"I think if Merab wins, yes (he's the best bantamweight of the decade)," Cejudo told MMA Junkie. "Petr still hasn't defended his title, so that's hard. I would put Aljamain (Sterling) in front of him. But when Merab wins, he just becomes the GOAT – straight up. He beat everybody. He beat everybody from me to Yan and just everybody. You've got to give it to him."
Cejudo, a former two-division UFC champion and Olympic gold medalist, has an extensive history with Dvalishvili. He lost a unanimous decision to "The Machine" at UFC 198 in February 2024, then most recently has faced his rival twice in wrestling matches for Real American Freestyle (RAF), splitting the results.
Wrestling has been a key point of success for Dvalishvili across his across his career, but in the most recent fight with Yan, he landed just two takedowns on 29 attempts. Cejudo thinks that part of his game will be much sharper at UFC 333, and anticipates that will be the deciding element of the fight.
"I think Merab's going to kill him, man," Cejudo said. "I think us having those two matches and him just training strictly on wrestling, he's got so much better. I told him, 'Hey man, after training wrestling like that, after that first match, you've got to do the same as that.'"
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Henry Cejudo: Merab Dvalishvili 'becomes the GOAT' with UFC 333 title win