Merab Dvalishvili is back in the gym, looking relaxed and enjoying himself after losing his UFC bantamweight belt.

Petr Yan surprisingly outworked and outpointed ‘The Machine’ at UFC 323 on December 6, bringing his title reign to an end.

Dvalishvili’s impressive run in the division makes an immediate rematch in 2026 likely, and he will be eager to reclaim his spot at the top.

In the meantime, he is keeping active by training with Facebook billionaire and MMA enthusiast Mark Zuckerberg.

Mark Zuckerberg goes three rounds with Merab Dvalishvili

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Zuckerberg has been stepping up his training lately, with a few notable sessions catching the public’s eye.

One came earlier this year, when he sparred with Alex Pereira. The UFC light heavyweight champion was clearly going easy on him, making sure to keep things friendly.

This time around, Dvalishvili still held back but did not shy away from giving Zuckerberg a more genuine challenge.

Footage from their three-round session has quickly made the rounds on social media.

The video shows ‘The Machine’ connecting with some clean shots, while Zuckerberg’s improvement was clear despite being outmatched.

One highlight came when Zuckerberg scored a couple of takedowns against the Georgian fighter known for his wrestling skills.

Dvalishvili responded in good humour with a Stockton Slap that would not look out of place in a Nate Diaz highlight reel.

Dana White backs Mark Zuckerberg as fans question his skills

Zuckerberg began training in various forms of martial arts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even so, many still question his ability, suggesting he does not have what it takes to handle himself in a real fight.

Dana White addressed that criticism back in November, standing up for the Meta CEO and warning people not to underestimate him.

“People talk s— about (Mark) Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg is a great athlete.

“He trains in MMA, he surfs, he does all this s—. You know, everybody – Zuckerberg will beat the s— out of you, okay?

“Everybody thinks he’s some computer nerd, Mark Zuckerberg will beat the living s— out of you. All these guys that talk stuff about him on the internet, yeah, he’ll kick your a–.

“The moral of the story is, all of you, you know, telephone tough guys and internet tough guys that talk s— about Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg will beat the s— out of every one of you.”