Georgian Prime Minister receives Merab Dvalishvili after winning the UFC Bantamweight Championship

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday received Merab Dvalishvili, a Georgian mixed martial arts wrestler who became UFC bantamweight champion last month.

Kobakhidze congratulated Dvalishvili on winning the title and once again emphasized the “importance of the victory for the country,” the government administration said.

The prime minister announced Monday that mixed martial arts wrestlers Dvalishvili and Ilia Topuria, the UFC series' new bantamweight and featherweight champions, will each receive a cash award of 1 million pounds ($367,666) for their achievements. would receive.

The head of government said on Monday that Georgian athletes had achieved “unprecedented successes in various sports.” Two of the eight active UFC champions were Georgians, and only Brazil, with its 200 million inhabitants, achieved results comparable to Georgia's four million.

Dvalishvili became bantamweight champion after defeating his American opponent Sean O'Malley in September, while Topuria took the featherweight title after defeating Australian Alexander Volkanovski in February.