Merab Dvalishvili has broken his nose yet again.
The former UFC bantamweight champion shared the news on his Instagram page. Not only was his nose at the usual crooked angle, it now has an indent mixed in.
Despite the injury, Dvalishvili says he’s refusing surgery — which could keep him out of action for over a year.
“The X-Ray shows my nose is broken in two places,” Dvalishvili said. “I just saw doctor, nose surgeon and he said he will fix my nose again and make it straight. He has to break other bones too, and it will take one more year to heal up.
“Of course, I don’t want to do that, otherwise, he says, ‘Keep it that way and you can do surgery after your retirement.’ I said, ‘I’m not going to retirement for the next 20 years, so I guess I’m going to keep my nose even more cracked than it used to be before and I’m going to deal with it.”
Dvalishvili is hopeful the UFC gives him an opportunity to become a two-time bantamweight champ. After three successful title defenses to start off 2025, Dvalishvili attempted to become the first fighter in UFC history with four championship defenses in a year when he faced Petr Yan in a rematch at UFC 323 this past December. Yan dominated Dvalishvili over five rounds in one of the greatest performances in championship fight history to regain the 135-pound title.
“The Machine” also says the injury won’t keep him off of the wrestling mats on April 18, as he’s set to face an old foe.
“And I’m still going to compete [in] wrestling [match] with Henry Cejudo at RAF [8],” Dvalishvili said. “That’s it.”