Merab Dvalishvili Says He Has Given Up Finding a Wife
Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili says he has given up finding a wife, at least for now, after struggling to meet someone who wants the family life he has been chasing. The Georgian star delivered the update to Helen Yee Sports while turning his attention toward a UFC 333 title fight with Petr Yan.
Dvalishvili is 21-5 as a professional, ranked No. 1 at bantamweight, and No. 8 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings. The 35-year-old meets Yan in a trilogy bout for the 135-pound championship on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi.
He has been public about wanting to get married and have children. That search became a running topic in 2025, when the former champion discussed it with Yee and other interviewers while he still held the belt.
The latest answer sounded more tired than playful.
“I think I give up,” Dvalishvili told Yee. “Maybe for now I give up.”
“I was really trying, but it’s really hard,” he said. “I don’t think the girls want to have a family today.”
He did not leave the explanation there. Dvalishvili also pointed at his own life, not only at the women he has met.
“There are a couple of reasons, you know,” he said. “Also, maybe I’m not 100% ready because I’m focused on my fighting.”
That timing is hard to separate from the title picture. Yan took the belt from him by unanimous decision at UFC 323 in December, and the rubber match is now two months away.
“Also, I don’t know if I mentioned, I need a wife to have kids and family and stuff like that,” Dvalishvili said. “But I understand, like we all are chasing careers.”
“I’m chasing my career,” he said. “And if the girls are chasing their careers, good for them.”
That last line is the clearest part of the interview. Dvalishvili is not claiming the sport owes him a family. He is saying the calendar he chose, and the one he thinks a lot of women are choosing, do not line up right now.
His fighting calendar has been packed. Dvalishvili won the title from Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in 2024, then defended it against Umar Nurmagomedov, O’Malley in a rematch, and Cory Sandhagen before the loss to Yan.
The first meeting with Yan came in 2023, when Dvalishvili won and kept a long climb toward the belt moving. Yan answered in their second fight and left Dvalishvili as the top-ranked challenger instead of the champion.
That is the version of “The Machine” talking about marriage now. He is still one of the most active elite fighters in the division, and he is asking for a third fight with a man who already took the title from him.
Dvalishvili had previously said he wanted a wife and kids, and he had even talked about hoping to find a Georgian partner. Those comments made the search a public running joke as much as a personal goal.
The new remarks close that chapter for the moment without slamming the door. “Maybe for now” leaves room for later. It also makes clear that the next two months are about Yan, not dating.
His stance is consistent with the way he has described the job. Dvalishvili has long treated fighting as the center of his life, and he is now saying that focus may be the reason the other part has not happened.
None of that changes the assignment in Abu Dhabi. A win over Yan would make him a two-time UFC bantamweight champion and put him back on top of a division he held through three successful title defenses.
A loss would leave him 0-2 in his last two fights with Yan and extend the wait for both the belt and the family plans he keeps describing. Either result will decide the next phase of his career first.
Dvalishvili is scheduled to challenge Yan for the bantamweight title at UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. Until then, by his own account, the search for a wife is on hold.