Merab Dvalishvili admits he’s ‘heartbroken’ over Ilia Topuria’s defeat at UFC White House

Merab Dvalishvili has spoken out about his close friend Ilia Topuria’s defeat on the White House earlier this month.

They’ve been close friends for years after emerging as two of the standout stars of Georgian MMA. At one point the duo held bantamweight, featherweight and light-weight gold, but they’ve since been relieved of their belts.

After losing his belt and undefeated record, what’s next for Ilia Topuria?

Back in December, Petr Yan defeated Dvalishvili to take the 135lb title. And 6 months later, Topuria was defeated by Justin Gaethje for the lightweight title at UFC Freedom 250 in front of 34 million global viewers.

Merab Dvalishvili speaks about Ilia Topuria’s defeat at UFC Freedom 250

In a recent stream with N3on, Merab Dvalishvili spoke about his disappointment watching Ilia Topuria suffer his first defeat on the White House. He also claimed that Justin Gaethje can have used illegal tactics with the intention to ‘blind’ his rival.

Dvalishvili took aim at N3on’s pal Arman Tsarukyan, who was not complimentary of Topuria after his fourth round defeat. “Your friend Arman is talking s— about my friend Ilia,” the previous bantamweight champion shouted.

“He’s a very good fighter but he talked s— about my friend so I feel like with Arman I’m heartbroken… All these people talking s— about Ilia saying crazy things have broken my heart. Last two weeks I haven’t slept due to fight.

“Ilia was blind after the second round. He was blind in each eyes. He dominated the primary two rounds, then Justin Gaethje did punch him like this [with his fingers out].”