Newly-minted UFC bantamweight world champion Merab Dvalishvili has just pledged to donate an incredible $350,000 to the growth of grappling in his native country of Georgia. The veteran fighter was actually given the sum by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who made the decision to reward both Dvalishvili and Ilia Topuria. Dvalishvili was born and raised in Georgia, while Topuria was born in Germany to Georgian parents and returned to their country at the age of 7. The prime minister announced the reward of 1 million Georgian Lari (just over $350,000) that would be given to each man in recognition of their accomplishments as recent UFC title-winners.
Topuria became the first Georgian champion in the promotion’s history when he defeated featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 at the beginning of the year, and Dvalishvili followed in his footsteps just a few months later. He dethroned the bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 and joined his Topuria in flying the Georgian flag at the highest level of professional MMA. It’s been a landmark year for combat sports in Georgia and naturally the prime minister was looking to celebrate it in a big way. By rewarding Topuria and Dvalishvili, it demonstrates to young competitors with similar goals that their country supports them.
Topuria actually started his combat sports career outside of Georgia, as his family relocated to Spain when he was a teenager. Dvalishvili on the other hand grew up practicing qartuli chidaoba, the country’s traditional style of wrestling, and practiced both Judo and Sambo in Georgia too. He only moved to the US at the age of 21 when he was already a skilled grappler, with the goal of using those skills to pursue an MMA career. Now with a professional record of 18-4, Dvalishvili has been able to use his grappling skils to great effect and he will be using his reward to help develop the next generation of Georgians in the same position as he once was.
Journalist Giorgi Kokiashvili announced the news that Merab Dvalishvili had pledged his reward from the government of Georgia to promote grappling in the region in a recent post to his official Twitter account:
🚨 Government of Georgia gifted Merab Dvalishvili a million Georgian Lari for becoming the UFC Champion. (approx. $367,666)
Merab Dvalishvili said that he will give this money to charities and develop the MMA Teams and BJJ/Judo/Wrestling clubs in order to raise more UFC… pic.twitter.com/IkjJQUKPMp
— Giorgi Kokiashvili 🇬🇪 (@iHeartGeorgius1) September 30, 2024
