Merab Dvalishvili is the bantamweight GOAT after incredible UFC 311 performance, as per Henry Cejudo

Merab Dvalishvili should be viewed as the greatest bantamweight of all time – at least in the eyes of his former opponent Henry Cejudo.

Last weekend at UFC 311, Merab Dvalishvili did something pretty special. He produced an incredible comeback after being 2-0 down on the scorecards to defeat Umar Nurmagomedov. In doing so, he successfully retained his UFC bantamweight championship for the very first time – against perhaps one of the best contenders in all of mixed martial arts.

One of the primary ways in which Merab Dvalishvili accomplished this goal was through his cardio. He was able to keep up an absolutely insane pace throughout the entirety of this fight, and by doing so, he elevated himself to a whole new level within the history of tha bantamweight division.

During a recent episode of his podcast alongside Kamaru Usman, Henry Cejudo couldn’t help but admit that Merab Dvalishvili deserves to be up there with the greats.

Henry Cejudo calls Merab Dvalishvili the bantamweight GOAT

“Yan, O’Malley, Cejudo, Umar, Moraes, Aldo. I mean, he’s fought everybody,” Cejudo said on his “Pound for Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “He’s beat everybody in this division, you could say, in their prime. You just can, man. Merab is the bantamweight GOAT – at least in my eyes.

“He only has one title defense, but the people who he has beaten is great. It’s a great top-five resume maybe in UFC, period.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Merab Dvalishvili has already cemented his legacy. At this point, it’s a case of seeing just how far he can take it. Regardless of whether it’s Sean O’Malley or another challenger that comes his way, he has to be favored to successfully retain his belt. Either way, we’re just happy that we get to see someone like him compete.