Conor McGregor praises ‘magnificent’ UFC champion ahead of UFC 316 rematch

UFC superstar Conor McGregor is fired up to look at the return of Merab Dvalishvili.

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is certainly one of the most important stars in Mixed Martial Arts, amidst a lengthy unbeaten streak during his profession. After defeating certainly one of Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s proteges at UFC 311, Dvalishvili was blanketed with praise by Conor McGregor.

Dvalishvili will make his next bantamweight title defense against the person he beat for the belt, Sean O’Malley, within the UFC 316 predominant event in June. At UFC 306 in September, Dvalishvili outpointed O’Malley by unanimous decision to reel in a brand new title reign within the bantamweight division.

Dvalishvili’s rise to stardom got here after back-to-back losses to start his UFC tenure. Years later, McGregor is in awe of what Dvalishvili has achieved after suffering early adversity.

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Conor McGregor is an enormous fan of Merab Dvalishvili

Before his current unbeaten streak, Dvalishvili lost fights to Ricky Simon and Frankie Saenz. The UFC was on the verge of cutting Dvalishvili before he got back within the win column in his next fight against Terrion Ware.

Since his two UFC blemishes, Dvalishvili has turn out to be one of the crucial dominant forces in combat sports, and McGregor is a large supporter of his success.

In a recent post to X, McGregor gave a public endorsement to UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili for overcoming losses in his first two UFC appearances.

“And now, years on, the reigning, defending UFC World Champion! Magnificent!” McGregor said of Dvalishvili.

“Merab is A Star!”

As of this writing, Dvalishvili hasn’t publicly responded to McGregor’s comments. McGregor hasn’t fought since injuring his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

McGregor overcame some adversity early on in his MMA profession to turn out to be the face of the UFC. A four-second knockout victory was the catalyst behind McGregor’s meteoric rise in combat sports.

Conor McGregor teased MMA retirement amidst Irish political aspirations

McGregor raised eyebrows at a recent Bare Knuckle FC press conference when he hinted at concluding his MMA profession to pursue political office in Ireland. McGregor announced his Irish presidential campaign earlier this yr following a White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

McGregor was briefly linked to a boxing match with Logan Paul before the UFC matchmakers allegedly squashed negotiations. As of this writing, McGregor stays under contract with the UFC, but isn’t within the promotion’s Drug Free Sport testing pool.

Dvalishvili is certainly one of several UFC stars who’ve blossomed without McGregor’s highlight within the promotion. If he defeats O’Malley again at UFC 316, Dvalishvili’s case to maneuver up the pound-for-pound rankings will likely be a robust one.