“My country loves me so much. It doesn’t matter if I lose or I win, they love me and my family and my people love me,” he said.
“But to go to the MMA gyms and even the UFC PI, I see all the professional fighters and I get respect from them. That was the best, because, yeah, I’m in the club! To get respect from real fighters, I think this is the number one thing that I’m happy about.”
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With the backing of his nation and the respect of his peers, Dvalishvili heads into his first title defense against Nurmagomedov aware of the challenge in front of him, but confident in his ability to get the job done and emerge victorious.
“The fight will be really tough. This is a big, big challenge for me, because it’s a new face and yeah, he’s a good fighter,” he said.
“It’s gonna be a tough fight. A good fight. Of course, I’m gonna be looking for the finish. To win against a top opponent and change his zero to one loss, that will be good.”