"Two legends" - Fan react as Ilia Topuria links up with Merab Dvalishvili ahead of UFC 317

Hours before the UFC 317 main event, Ilia Topuria met Merab Dvalishvili backstage at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This encounter caught the attention of fans and sparked a range of reactions.

'El Matador' is scheduled to face Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight championship in the headliner bout of UFC 317. This fight presents Topuria with his first opportunity to become a two-division champion in the leading MMA promotion.

Dvalishvili, a long-time supporter of Topuria, met with the former UFC featherweight champion and his family backstage. A video of the meeting was shared by the promotion on their social media platforms.

Check out Ilia Topuria meeting Merab Dvalishvili below:

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Several fight fans and netizens went to the comments section of @ufc's post on X to share their reactions, with one user writing:

"Two legends"

Others commented:

"That sounds exciting! I bet the Georgian brothers will put on a great show at UFC 317." "Ilia is literally from Spain." "So ready for an amazing night!" "UFC on another level" "The champ is here the champ is here."

Check out more fan reactions below:

Fans' reaction to Ilia Topuria meeting Merab Dvalishvili. [Screenshots courtesy: @ufc on X]

For context, Dvalishvili was born and raised in Georgia, and Topuria also spent several years of his childhood there. Although the two UFC fighters were not close acquaintances prior to joining the UFC, they became good friends after they arrived in the leading MMA promotion.

Dvalishvili and Topuria have also shared several training sessions together, and given their strong bond, the UFC bantamweight champion has come to support his friend.

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Edited by Nilaav Gogoi