Georgian PM hosts Merab Dvalishvili following UFC Bantamweight Championship win

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday hosted Merab Dvalishvili, a Georgian mixed martial arts wrestler who last month became the UFC Bantamweight Champion.

Kobakhidze congratulated Dvalishvili on winning the title and once again emphasised the “importance of the victory for the country”, the Government Administration said.

• Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili becomes UFC Bantamweight Champion

The PM on Monday announced mixed martial arts wrestlers Dvalishvili and Ilia Topuria, the new champions in bantamweight and featherweight categories of the UFC series, would each receive a monetary reward of ₾1 million ($367,666) for their accomplishments.

Georgian PM announces $367,666 reward for UFC champions Dvalishvili and Topuria

The head of the Government on Monday said Georgian athletes had achieved “unprecedented success in various sports”, noting two out of the eight active UFC champions were Georgians and adding only Brazil, with its 200 million population, had results comparable to Georgia's four million.

• UFC fighter Ilia Topuria becomes first Georgian to win World Champion title

Dvalishvili became the Bantamweight Champion after defeating his American opponent Sean O'Malley in September, while Topuria took the featherweight title after his win over Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski in February.