Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili suffered a brutal nose injury that could indefinitely postpone his Octagon return plans.
Merab Dvalishvili suffered a shocking rematch loss to Petr Yan in their UFC 323 bantamweight title rematch in December. After a 14-fight winning streak, Dvalishvili lost to Yan by unanimous decision to bring his bantamweight title reign to an abrupt end.
Dvalishvili’s return plans remain uncertain just a few months into 2026. Ahead of the title eliminator bout at the White House featuring Dvalishvili’s former rival Sean O’Malley against Aiemann Zahabi, the assumption from many was that the Dvalishvili vs. Yan trilogy would be the next title fight.
While Dvalishvili wants to waste little time getting another shot at the belt and to conclude his rivalry with Yan, the former UFC bantamweight champion hit a significant roadblock.
Merab Dvalishvili hits a major roadblock in UFC return timeline
In a recent post to Instagram, Dvalishvili detailed a serious nose injury he suffered from a knee he took to the face in training.
“What a good day, and a stupid accident, again,” Dvalishvili said.
“My nose is f—- up. Even more cracked in the same direction, my bones are broken inside and on one side I can’t even breathe. Doing an X-Ray now, and I’m sure the UFC will help me with that, even though I don’t have a fight coming up. I’m going to try the surgery to fix [my nose]. I was just sparring and I got knee’d.”
Dvalishvili then saw a nose specialist in Las Vegas and updated his followers on the next steps in a follow-up message.
“So the doctor’s going to fix my nose and then straighten it. He has to re-break the other bones, too, and it’ll take one more year to heal up. Of course, I don’t want to do that, and otherwise he said to keep it this way and you can do surgery after you retire. But I’m not going to retire [within] the next few years,” Dvalishvili said.
“I guess I’m keeping my nose even more crooked than it was before, and I’ll deal with it.”
This isn’t the first time that Dvalishvili suffered an odd injury in between fights. Ahead of his fight against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311, Dvalishvili suffered a nasty leg injury that some feared would threaten his career.
Will Merab Dvalishvili reclaim the UFC bantamweight championship in his return? Let us know your predictions in the comments!