The newest men’s UFC bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili, has been on quite the high ever since he defeated Sean O’Malley to win the title earlier this month at the Sphere.
Dvalishvili lives and trains in the United States but is from Tbilisi, Georgia and the 33-year-old recently returned to his home country, where he was welcomed by thousands of fans.
The organization posted some video highlights Monday of Dvalishvili arriving at the airport and participating in a parade that drew huge numbers.
Dvalishvili, who has won 11 in a row on his way to becoming the 135-pound champ, is one of two active UFC champions from Georgia. Current featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will defend his belt atop the 145-pound division against Max Holloway at the end of October at UFC 308.
It is unclear against whom Dvalishvili will first defend his title. The frontrunner would appear to be undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov who’s coming off a five-round decision victory over Cory Sandhagen in August.
Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov have been recently going back and forth on social media as their rivalry develops.