Merab Dvalishvili outlines his UFC P4P rankings with Ilia Topuria, Islam Makhachev, and Alexandre Pantoja getting new spots

Merab Dvalishvili recently gave his take on the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, listing Ilia Topuria, Islam Makhachev, and Alexandre Pantoja above him. Despite having won 13 consecutive fights in the octagon, which included two successful title defenses, Dvalishvili ranked himself lower than them, displaying his humility.

The promotion's seventh pay-per-view card UFC 317, took place on Saturday. Many MMA personalities were in attendance at the T-Mobile Arena to witness Topuria become UFC's 10th two-division champion by defeating Charles Oliveira via violent knockout in the main event. The co-main event saw Alexandre Pantoja successfully defend his flyweight belt by submitting Kai Kara-France in the third round.

Dvalishvili, who experienced the entire evening, placed Topuria, Makhachev, and Pantoja ahead of him in his top four P4P rankings. During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the bantamweight champion said:

''Right now, I will say Ilia [Topuria]. Number one. Who does this? I mean, he’s undefeated and how he wins the last three fights and two division champion. Number two, Islam [Makhachev]. I will say number three, [Alexandre] Pantoja.''

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'The Machine' then ranked himself at no. 4, saying:

''Number four is good...I have to be humble because I don’t wanna overlook my opponents''

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below:

However, according to the official rankings displayed on the UFC website, Makhachev is at the top, followed by Dvalishvili and Topuria. Pantoja is ranked ninth on the P4P ladder, prompting reaction from the Brazilian, who voiced his displeasure on several occasions.

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Merab Dvalishvili isn't prepared to test himself against Alexander Volkanovski

In the aforementioned conversation with Ariel Helwani, Merab Dvalishvili was asked if he would be interested in moving up to challenge featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski.

Dvalishvili responded by rejecting the notion and saying that he would like to face all the top contenders in his bantamweight division first.

''[Volkanovski] used to be like a hero for me and he still is but now we are friends...I'm not planning to go to his division...Right now, I'm comfortable. I want to clean out my division. I don't wanna chase too much. I'm good. I wanna defend my belt. I'm comfortable here for now. If later, if I really beat everybody, then yes, maybe I will take some super fights or maybe I will go for the second belt, but like I said, I have so much respect for Volkanovski, for now, I don't want to deal him."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below:

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Edited by Swagat Kumar Jena