"Quite simply, his 3-0 run to start the year and his resilient effort in his fourth fight of the year I feel stands above the other great efforts seen in 2025. While he came up short in his historic attempt for a fourth victory in the calendar year, his performances against Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O'Malley, and Cory Sandhagen in championship fights should not be diminished."
"Can you give Fighter of the Year to someone coming off a loss in his final fight of 2025? Well, I'm going to. Merab Dvalishvili all day. Attempting to defend a belt four times in a calendar year is the exact type of crazy Merab is. His loss to Yan aside (and a rematch is no doubt coming), he had a stellar year and defeated the boogeyman that is Umar Nurmagomedov."
Merab Dvalishvili defended the UFC bantamweight title four times in 2025, a feat matched only by Demetrious Johnson's four straight defenses in 2013. He opened the year with a 3-0 run and defeated Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O'Malley, and Cory Sandhagen in championship fights. Dvalishvili lost his final fight of the year to Yan and dropped the belt, but the attempt to defend four times in one calendar year distinguished his campaign. Joshua Van finished as a close runner-up and could have been a stronger candidate if his fight with Alexandre Pantoja had not ended early due to the champion's injury. The welterweight champion captured gold in a second weight division, defeating Jack Della Maddalena over five rounds.
Read at cagesidepress.com
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