Merab Dvalishvili outshines Dricus du Plessis and Islam Makhachev to win ESPY Fighter Of The Year award

Reigning UFC bantamweight kingpin Merab Dvalishvili has outshone Dricus du Plessis, Islam Makhachev, and Kayla Harrison to bag the 2025 ESPY Fighter Of The Year award.

The announcement was made today during the UFC Nashville live broadcast by Brendan Fitzgerald, who said:

"Merab Dvalishvili is the ESPY winner for MMA Fighter of the Year. He won three times. Against Sean O'Malley in the Sphere to win the belt. He defended it against Umar Nurmagomedov in January, and then he defended it against Sean O'Malley in the rematch... A nice honor, Merab. Congratulations. Well deserved."

Daniel Cormier added:

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"Merab actually won 11 fights before he got a title fight. So this guy deserves to be exactly where he is. And honestly, when looking at all of the nominees, you felt Merab was the most deserving guy to win the championship. His performance has only gotten better... So congratulations to my Georgian friend Merab Dvalishvili. He is everybody's friend."

Check out Brendan Fitzgerald and Daniel Cormier's comments below:

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Dvalishvili has been one of the most active UFC fighters recently, first dethroning Sean O'Malley in 2024, then defending his strap against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311, and most recently submitting 'Suga' in a rematch to defend the UFC strap successfully for the second time this year.

Dvalishvili hopes to fight two more times in 2025 and has his sights on Cory Sandhagen next. 'The Machine' is open to rematches once he gets past Sandhagen. Meanwhile, UFC CEO Dana White has pitched the idea of a rematch with Nurmagomedov down the line.

UFC lightweight champion and pound-for-pound king Ilia Topuria is not among the nominees because the timeline for the nomination is from July 1, 2024 to June 20, 2025. During this period, Topuria fought and won only once, and 'El Matador's' most recent win over Charles Oliveira is not counted.

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