Merab Dvalishvili reveals he broke nose in two places, choosing to skip surgery

Merab Dvalishvili’s return to the cage will be delayed after he revealed this week he sustained a broken nose and will be out indefinitely.

The former UFC men’s bantamweight champion posted a series of updates to social media on April 1, however, it was not an April Fools' prank.

Dvalishvili explained in a video, as gauze was packed in his nostrils, that “a stupid accident” while sparring resulted in him breaking his nose in multiple places.

This is not the first time Dvalishvili has broken his nose. He explained he initially broke it 12 years ago in his professional debut. This time is was from getting kneed during a sparring session.

“As you see, it's even more cracked, same direction,” Dvalishvili said of his crooked nose. “When I touch, my bones are broken inside, and one side I can't even breathe.”

The 35-year-old from Georgia also posted a follow-up video and photos of his X-rays and said the doctor told him he broke his nose in two places.

“I just saw doctor, nose surgeon, and he said if he will fix my nose and then make straight, then he has to rebreak other bones too, and it will take one more year to heal up,” Dvalishvili said. 

Dvalishvili then explained he doesn’t want to pause his combat sports career to undergo the surgery at this time. He added that the doctor explained to him he could wait until after he retires to get the surgery to straighten his nose.

“I guess I'm going to keep my nose even more crooked (than) what it used to be before, and I'm gonna deal with that,” Dvalishvili said.

Dvalishvili is coming off his first defeat in more than seven years. He lost his title and had a 14-fight winning streak snapped by Petr Yan at UFC 323, when Yan avenged a previous 2023 unanimous decision loss to Dvalishvili by returning the favour in December 2025.

Although the UFC hadn’t made any announcements, it was presumed a Yan vs. Dvalishvili championship trilogy bout was tentatively being planned for this year. Yan hinted on social media in February that a summer showdown was possible, although with Dvalishvili suffering this setback, it’s unclear how long he will remain out of action and whether this could affect a potential immediate Yan vs. Dvalishvili rematch.

The former 135-pound kingpin is known for his tenacity inside and outside the cage, so it comes as little surprise Dvalishvili added he plans on training through the injury.

Dvalishvili has a Real American Freestyle wrestling match with former Olympic gold medallist and former two-weight UFC champ Henry Cejudo scheduled for April 18 and he said he still plans on participating at that event.

It's unclear how long it will take for him to be able to resume MMA sparring.

During his run to the title and his time as champ, Dvalishvili earned notable victories over fellow UFC champions Yan, Cejudo, Jose Aldo and Sean O’Malley (twice), plus he picked up additional title defences over Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov.

Dvalishvili remains the No. 1-ranked contender in the men’s bantamweight division and the No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter on the UFC roster.