'Disappointed' Merab Dvalishvili explains why he has zero interest in wrestling Arman Tsarukyan in RAF

A match against Tsarukyan would have been Dvalishvili’s biggest ever in terms of a size disparity. The native Georgian ideally wanted to do the match in Hype FC, where the ruleset called for six minutes of submission grappling exclusively. With all factors considered, Dvalishvili saw that option as the best-suited for him.

But then he reopened a cut on his nose during training shortly after the offer was presented, axing it entirely.

Dvalishvili, 35, has been on the mend since breaking his nose in his bantamweight title loss to Yan at UFC 323 in December. His nose was already slightly banged up before it fully cracked; he recalled wearing headgear during a training session, which led to an unlucky moment when he removed it and took a shot right on the money.

Surgery still awaits Dvalishvili if he wants a full fix for his busted snout. That’ll be a problem for later, though, as he feels great and is ready for the UFC’s Yan trilogy call.

"When I go to doctor, doctor tell me it probably needs surgery to make straight,” Dvalishvili said. “I need long recovery. Also, UFC doctor sends me there, and you never want plastic surgery or something. They want you to be fine. That's what I want to hear, too. The doctor told me recovery will be long time. It's better to leave it like this, and I said, you know what? F*** it. I'm not getting married anyway, or if somebody loves me, they will love me with my cracked nose, and I'm fine."

Dvalishvili’s potential chance at redemption came quickly, he said. The Georgian claims that right after his unanimous decision loss to Yan, UFC CBO Hunter Campbell told him a trilogy bout would be waiting for whenever he was ready.

Merab Dvalishvili (L) suffered an upset title loss to Petr Yan in December.

(Ian Maule via Getty Images)

"I was hoping to fight before White House card [in June], because UFC did say that most likely our fight won't be in White House, so that's why I was hoping to get the fight against Yan in May,” Dvalishvili said. “Now I'm guessing our fight, maybe, hopefully, [will be] in August, because if we are fighting in July, they must call us or announce it. I'm thinking maybe they're pushing for August, but I'm ready now.

"I'm not the champion, and I can't call and push. Especially when Petr has the belt, and that's his choice when he wants to come back. When I was champion, yes, I was telling UFC to give me fights as soon as possible — whoever is the best contender. That's what I did two months after I fought Cory Sandhagen."

Throughout his three-fight title reign, Dvalishvili was as active of a champion as the sport has ever seen. That high work rate was arguably what led to his downfall against Yan.

Yet within Dvalishvili’s team at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, he’s not the only one anticipating a big return to action. On May 16, Netflix gets into the MMA game when Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions presents its first event in the sport. In the main event, the returning duo of Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano collide in Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome.

A women’s MMA pioneer, Carano has made Syndicate MMA her home base ahead of her comeback after 17 years away from the game. And despite the nearly two-decade layoff for Carano, Dvalishvili has been wildly impressed by his new teammate.

"It was a great honor for me to train with her,” Dvalishvili said. “I was surprised how good she is. Ronda Rousey has a judo background, and I also have a judo background. Of course I always support judo, but I think Gina Carano will win this fight. I know how good she is. Because when she was fighting, I was very young, and I was not even in MMA. I had never seen her fight before. But when I trained with her, I was so impressed, and I went and watched all the fights. She's the real deal. I think she can beat Ronda Rousey.

"It's going to make UFC fighters look bad, and she's going to make judo also look bad, but I think she's going to win."