UFC 320 is in the books, and while Alex Pereira reclaiming his light heavyweight title is grabbing most of the headlines, the co-main event was just as significant. Merab Dvalishvili successfully defended his title for the third time this year, winning a decision over Cory Sandhagen that, in all likelihood, cements him as the 2025 Fighter of the Year.
But is he the bantamweight GOAT? And how long until he climbs that mountain? Let’s discuss.
GOAT Candidacy and Merab Dvalishvili
As one of the few holdouts of the Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo GOAT candidacy in their respective divisions, what do Merab and Alexander Volkanovski have to do to achieve goat status in their divisions in your opinion?
I touched on this last week, but after Merab’s latest win, it deserves a deeper dive.
Many people are saying (and have been saying) that Merab Dvalishvili is the bantamweight GOAT. Those people are incorrect. This is not a denigration of Dvalishvili, who I ranked as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, but an acknowledgment of the accomplishments of Dominick Cruz — incidentally, a fighter I hated at the time and still hold no love for.
First, it’s important to distinguish between “greatest” and “best,” because they are not the same. The best fighter will almost always be the most recent champion, because things tend to improve over time. Prime Anderson Silva probably loses to prime Khamzat Chimaev, but no one would call Chimaev that Greatest, because “greatness” is about accomplishment. And in combat sports, that means title reigns.
Merab Dvalishvili is great. Historically great. His three title defenses tie him with Aljamain Sterling for “most” in UFC history, and Sterling had the weird title win scenario. Dvalishvili is clearly ahead of Aljo in the bantamweight GOAT conversation. But he’s still not to Cruz.
While Cruz technically only has three UFC title defenses, he also has an additional two WEC title defenses, back when the WEC belt was the de facto UFC bantamweight title. And on top of that, he has his second title win, over T.J. Dillashaw, which came because Cruz was so injured he had to vacate the title. Any reasonable person should be able to agree that is six functional title defenses for Cruz (cannot include the Takeya Mizugaki fight because it wasn’t for a belt and wasn’t 5 rounds), twice as many as Dvalishvili.
If you’ve doubled someone up, you are historically greater. That seems self-evident to me. And this isn’t exactly a Bill Russell vs. Michael Jordan debate where one era had six teams in it. Cruz has one Hall of Famer (twice) in that run, the possible GOAT (Demetrious Johnson), and two other guys who probably should make the Hall but won’t (T.J. Dillashaw and Joseph Benavidez). Arguably, the weakest win of his was his initial title win over Brian Bowles. That’s saying a good bit.
Now, I do believe Dvalishvili has opened the conversation, because he’s firmly in the No. 2 spot in the debate. If he adds one more title defense to the pack, it becomes a real conversation, and if he adds two more, it’s incontrovertible. And if he does that, the Dvalishvili conversation is no longer about where he ranks as a bantamweight, but where he ranks pound-for-pound all-time.
The sticking point for me in these GOAT debates is simple: people are way too quick to crown the next one. WE saw them do it with Israel Adesanya, and Kamaru Usman, and Alexander Volkanovski, and Max Holloway, and the list goes on, because when a fighter is having a moment, it feels like it will never end. Dvalishvili is at the peak of his powers right now, and it seems like he will never lose. Perhaps he won’t, but everyone seems that way until it happens.
As for Volkanovski, it’s really tricky. Personally, I’m not sure he can surpass Aldo at this point. When Volkanovski was on his peak run, he clearly overtook second place, but he was still four title defenses back of Aldo. Then he lost the belt to Topuria, and now it’s awkward, because this isn’t the same run, and he’s only the best featherweight by virtue of Topuria leaving the division. Honestly, it’s very similar to when Aldo lost the belt but then won it back over Frankie Edgar after Conor McGregor left the division, and nobody really puts too much weight on that part of Aldo’s career.
And the other issue is that, for as impressive as the Diego Lopes win was — it was very impressive — Lopes wasn’t the next best guy. He was a fan favorite, but he had lost to Movsar Evloev, who was the top contender. So how much stock do we put in it? I honestly don’t know. But plenty of people already want to call Volkanovski the GOAT (despite himself agreeing he is not), so any additional wins will only add to the fervor. If he beats Evloev and puts together another legit title reign at 145, he probably will take the title from Aldo, but I think he’ll need at least one more defense after that to sell me on it. Can he do it? Maybe. But we’ll have to see
Merab Dvalishvili’s Lack of Finishing
Is it me or are most of Merab´s fights best characterized as “he won convincingly but I feel that his opponent can go to his day job the following morning”? Aka is Merab The Greatest Fighter Who Does The Least Amount of Damage?
I feel like his opponents are mostly more tired/frustrated than actually physically hurt – case in point the Jose Aldo fight.
This is the other critique of Dvalishvili’s title reign: the lack of finishes. And while it’s a bit disingenuous to suggest excitement doesn’t matter, the truth is, it kind of doesn’t. History has a way of flattening out context, and in 20 years, people won’t have seen Merab fight; they’ll just see the resume and the wins. The scoreboard is the scoreboard, and in the words of the great Dominic Toretto, it doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile; winning is winning.
Plus, there is a downside to Merab’s style. While Dvalishvili has thus far looked unstoppable, there will come a point when he is not. It happens to every great champion, where they have to dig deep and pull victory from the jaws of defeat. Hell, we just saw Jiri Prochazka do it against Khalil Rountree on Saturday. And in Merab’s case, if he finds himself down 0-3 on the judges’ scorecards heading into the championship rounds, he’s cooked. Because he doesn’t have — or chooses not to use — a game that prioritizes damage and finishing ability.
But you can’t not his greatness because of it. The man is on an exceptional run and is very likely to end up as the GOAT bantamweight and a Top 10 all-time fighter. Even if he’s not the most exciting fighter to watch.
Magomed Ankalaev’s next fight
How screwed is Magomed Ankalaev for his next fight? Which LHW killer does he fight next?
Don’t get me wrong, Ankalaev could hardly have done worse on Saturday. Not only did he lose, but he looked anemic, and it was the fastest win of Pereira’s UFC career. That’s right, even his KO of Sean Strickland came later than the trouncing Ankalaev just suffered. That’s a bad look for Big Ank Time.
Fortunately, Pereira also provided Ankalaev with the path to his salvation. Because Pereira is not really interested in defending his light heavyweight title (he shouldn’t be) and instead wants a superfight at heavyweight. Good! Go do that. Alex Pereira has done all he needs to at 205, and let’s open light heavyweight back up to the masses. In the immediate future, that means Jiri vs. Carlos Ulberg for the vacant title, but for Ankalaev, as a former champion, he’s right back in the mix with one win.
Jiri is 100% the greatest thing in the UFC. It’s not a question but just a beautiful thing. Also once he just allows a little bit of his psycho to come out his accuracy is bonkers. Seen it in so many of his fights. He’s a weirdsmobile surrounded by douche canoes.
There is a reason I call this man my large adult son and have done so for years. He is everything right with MMA, and should be carved onto the Mount Rushmore of action fighters alongside Justin Gaethje and Robbie Lawler. A true original and probably my favorite active fighter. I would die for that man, and I’m glad everyone else is starting to realize there are more important things in MMA than “good” (though Jiri is obviously very good). I hope he lives forever.
Thanks for reading, and thank you to everyone who sent in tweets (Xs?)! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because you can send your tweets to me, @JedKMeshew, and I will answer my favorite ones! Doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane, just so long as they are good. Thanks again, and see y’all next week.
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