"He's lapping the division" - Michael Bisping makes case for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Merab Dvalishvili super fight 

British MMA legend Michael Bisping is convinced Alexander Volkanovski vs. Merab Dvalishvili is the fight to make if the UFC wants to market the lighter weight divisions.

Since claiming the bantamweight title at Noche UFC 2024, Dvalishvili has been on a tear. 'The Machine' has racked up three title defenses, most recently earning a dominant unanimous decision win over Cory Sandhagen.

Moreover, the Georgia native has already run through most of the bantamweight top five, leaving him with few interesting matchups at 135 pounds. Pitching the Volkanovski vs. Dvalishvili on his YouTube channel, Bisping said:

"If everyone's going to jump around weight classes, if Khamzat Chimaev is going to fight [Alex] Pereira, if Pereira's going to fight Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall, Conor McGregor can do it without defending a belt, Islam Makhachev wants to go up, Ilia Topuria wants to go up, why can't Merab Dvalishvili go up when he's beaten everyone in the top 10 pretty much? He's lapping the division. Tell me that you don't want to see a fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Merab Dvalishvili. That would be incredible. I would absolutely love to see that fight."

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Bisping added:

"If you want to do a big fight, if you want to showcase the lighter divisions, I am telling you, Alexander Volkanovski vs. Merab Dvalishvili in 2026. I've got a feeling that's going to happen."

Check out Michael Bisping's comments about a potential Alexander Volkanovski vs. Merab Dvalishvili match-up below (5:53):

While 'The Great' is back on top at 145 pounds, he has yet to go through the current cream of the crop in the division, including Movsar Evloev. 'The Count', however, believes the Australian's exploits during his first title reign warrant him an opportunity for the super fight.

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Merab Dvalishvili wants no piece of Alexander Volkanovski

Merab Dvalishvili seems untouchable at bantamweight; yet, he has no plans to go up in weight. He especially wants no part of Alexander Volkanovski, a sentiment the 34-year-old has voiced multiple times.

Earlier in June, 'The Machine' joined Volkanovski and Robert Whittaker for an interview with Fox Sports Australia. During the segment, the bantamweight champion showered praises on the former pound-for-pound king, going so far as to label him a "way stronger" fighter:

"I mentioned a couple of times that I don't want to fight with Alexander Volkanovski because he's way stronger than me. I don't want to take a big risk. I'm good. Even if this weight cut sucks, I'd rather kill myself to make this weight and be comfortable here. I'm good. I don't want to [fight him]. Then we can cook peacefully and wish each other the best."

Volkanovski has featured Dvalishvili on his hit cooking segment 'Cooking with Volk' in the past, a collaboration the pair seems eager to continue in the future.

Edited by Ujwal Jain