Dana White Addresses UFC Future of Merab Dvalishvili's Friend Saba Lazishvili After Usman Nurmagomedov Brawl
After defending Merab Dvalishvili in a viral Abu Dhabi brawl, 21-year-old Georgian wrestler Saba Lazishvili has earned praise from Dana White regarding a potential UFC future.
The bloody hotel lobby brawl between Merab Dvalishvili and Usman Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi has been settled, with Dvalishvili and his friend Saba Lazishvili released on fines, while Nurmagomedov, his crew, and two bystanders were handed six-month prison sentences and other penalties.
The main silver lining for “The Machine” and his 21-year-old friend is that they do not even have to worry about the 50,000 AED fines, as Real American Freestyle agreed to cover the cost, according to some Georgian media reports.
Things have only gotten better for Lazishvili from there. He already replaced Umar Nurmagomedov against Urijah Faber on the RAF Abu Dhabi card, and now he has caught UFC CEO Dana White's attention as well.
Dana White Says 21-Year-Old Saba Lazishvili Will Make His Way to the UFC
During the November 11 altercation, Lazishvili jumped in to defend an outnumbered Dvalishvili and reportedly knocked out two members of Nurmagomedov’s entourage in the process.
Footage of the young Georgian then went viral, turning him into an overnight fan favorite across the MMA community. Before the brawl, he had roughly 3,000 Instagram followers. Within 24 hours, that number crossed 400,000, and his account has since surged past 900,000 followers.
White had harsh words for the entire group after the brawl. But he sounded noticeably impressed when former UFC heavyweight Stefan Struve asked about Lazishvili during an interview on UFC op Eurosport.
"Yeah, everyone is talking about him and how he had his back," White said. When Struve followed up by asking if the promotion is interested in signing him, White left the door open, saying, "I'm sure he will make his way to the UFC. Eventually."
White’s response makes clear that a contract is not coming right away, largely because Lazishvili is still a freestyle wrestler with zero MMA experience. Still, he has a clear path there since he already trains at Syndicate MMA with Dvalishvili and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
Moreover, his older brother, Zviad Lazishvili, fought in the UFC in October 2021, losing a unanimous decision to Jonathan Martinez after going 13-0 outside the promotion as an LFA bantamweight champion.
Lazishvili has already decided to make that move. After police released them from custody, “The Machine” went live on Instagram and said his bloodied friend is ready to pursue an MMA career. If Lazishvili pulls off an upset against Faber at Etihad Arena in his RAF wrestling debut, the sky is the limit.
