Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling are among the top bantamweight fighters in UFC history, and their close friendship extends beyond their fighting careers—they are also training partners. Sterling first held the UFC bantamweight title, winning it with a disqualification victory over Petr Yan. He successfully defended the belt three times, defeating Yan in a rematch, TJ Dillashaw, and Henry Cejudo. However, Sterling lost the title to Sean O’Malley, who would later lose it to Dvalishvili.
Dvalishvili claimed the bantamweight belt from O’Malley in September, winning by decision. Earlier this year, he defeated Umar Nurmagomedov in another decision win. The pair met again at UFC 316 last weekend, where Dvalishvili secured a more dominant victory, submitting the former champion.
Following the win, Dvalishvili received a \$50,000 bonus in addition to his fight purse. At the post-fight press conference, he shared his plan to split that bonus with his close friend and training partner, Sterling. Dvalishvili explained that Sterling had been a crucial part of his training camp, sparring with him three times a week despite not being fond of sparring. He also mentioned that the gesture was partly a wedding gift for Sterling.
“In my training camp, my friend Aljamain Sterling helped me so much,” Dvalishvili said. “He is getting married. He doesn’t like sparring much, but he sparred with me three times a week. I’m grateful for him, and I told him today that I’m going to split my bonus with him—50/50.”
Dvalishvili is currently on an impressive 13-fight winning streak, including victories over O’Malley, Nurmagomedov, Cejudo, Yan, and Jose Aldo. His dominant performances have solidified him as one of the best fighters in MMA today. Dvalishvili has acknowledged that his success would not have been possible without Sterling’s support throughout his journey.
