Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling are two of the best bantamweights in UFC history. Interestingly, they’re also close friends and training partners.
Sterling held the UFC bantamweight belt first. He won it with a disqualification against Petr Yan in 2021, and then defended it three times, against Yan, TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo. He ultimately lost the belt to Sean O’Malley, who went on to lose the belt to Dvalishvili.
Dvalishvili won the belt from O’Malley last September, by way of a clear-cut decision win. After another decision win over Umar Nurmagomedov early this year, he met O’Malley in a rematch at UFC 316 last weekend. This time, he won more decisively, defeating the former champ by submission.
Merab Dvalishvili offers generous gift to UFC training partner
The win was impressive enough that Dvalishvili earned a $50,000 in addition to his standard fight purse.
After his win, Dvalishvili told the media that he intends to split that bonus with Sterling, 50/50—partly as a “thank you” for the training they’ve done together, partly as a wedding gift.
“In my training camp, my friend Aljamain Sterling helped me so much,” Dvalishvili said at the UFC 316 post-fight press conference (via Sportskeeda). “He is getting married. He don’t like sparring much, but he sparred with me three times a week.
“I’m grateful for my friend Aljamain Sterling. I [told] him today that I have to split my bonus. Give him half,” Dvalishvili added.
After his second win over O’Malley, Dvalishvili is on a truly legendary run, with 13-straight victories behind him. Highlights of his current streak include wins over O’Malley (of course), as well as Nurmagomedov, Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, and Jose Aldo. He is objectively one of the best fighters in MMA right now. It’s possible he wouldn’t achieved what he has without the help of his friend sterling.
