UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili had to work a second job up until 2020 due to him barely making financial ends meet.
Dvalishvili earned the UFC bantamweight title by defeating Sean O’Malley at UFC 306. He used his wrestling and timely striking to frustrate O’Malley through five rounds.
Dvalishvili’s road to the top of the UFC bantamweight division wasn’t easy. A 2017 UFC debutant, Dvalishvili lost his first two fights to Ricky Simon and Frankie Saenz and appeared on the cusp of being a roster cut.