Levan Chokheli Scores Big in UFC Debut Appearance!

Levan Chokheli (15-3, 1 NC MMA, 1-0 UFC) entered Saturday night's UFC Vegas 119 at Meta Apex in Enterprise, NV with some fights in major MMA already on his career resume. Prior to joining the UFC's active roster ahead of this weekend's card, he was a seven-bout veteran of the late Bellator MMA, going 4-3 in the promotion between 2021 and 2024.

While Chokheli's spot on the Bellator MMA roster survived the PFL buying the promotion in November of 2023, his last fight under the Bellator promotional banner ended in a sour note in September of 2024. That late summer Saturday night, Levan Chokheli drew the assignment of Lorenz Larkin (27-8, 2 NC MMA, 8-3, 1 NC Bellator.)

During the first round of a scheduled three in San Diego, Larkin stopped Chokheli with punches. Upon scoring a second-round knockout of Alexandre Goncalves last May, he signed with the UFC. Leon Shahbazyan (12-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) served as Chokheli's first UFC assignment on Saturday night's prelims.

Levan Chokheli With Quick Night of Work Saturday

Although the contest matching Levan Chokheli against Leon Shahbazyan was slated for a maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round, the former didn't need much time at all to complete his task. Right after the command to fight was given by referee Kerry Hatley inside the Apex, Levan Chokheli landed a vicious leg kick and peppered Leon Shahbazyan with a flurry of punches to close out the fight.

Time of the stoppage on Saturday night: 23 seconds into the opening round. Following the victory, the debuting Levan Chokheli spoke with UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier for his post-fight interview.

"It's been a long time," Levan Chokheli began. "I was outside of the UFC, but my skills fit here, you know? Thank you, UFC. I knew it! I could do it better, not outside of rank. I could do the same in the top-10 or top-15 or wherever."

Levan Chokheli's Yearlong Wait for UFC Debut Pays Off

Prior to UFC Vegas 119 on Saturday night, Levan Chokheli last fought 13 months ago. Although it took him more than a year to get to the fabled Octagon, it was worth the wait, as he told the assembled media on press row backstage after his successful debut.

"I was waiting one year for this opportunity," he said. "For mentality, I was ready for this fight. Thank you for UFC giving me this opportunity to fight today. I was ready, brother. I was ready."

Although Chokheli got the victory in under half of a minute at UFC Vegas 119, he mentioned that he'd still like to take time off to travel to his native Georgia.

"I want to see my people," he said. "I'm going to stay a couple weeks in Georgia, and when I'm going to come back, I want to stay very active. As I said, I was waiting one year for this fight, and I'm the kind of fighter who loves to stay active. When I come back from Georgia, I'm going to push the UFC to give me a fight."

Levan Chokheli's UFC Debut in the Works For Some Time

Chokheli's first Octagon fight on Saturday was the culmination of a lengthy wait to get back into action in the sport of MMA. It was also the fulfilment of a promise made to him by UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby in 2025. 

"When I fought last year, I spoke to the UFC," Chokheli said. "Sean Shelby told me to stay ready. He would give me a short-notice fight. I was waiting my time. It took a long time, but you have to wait for the right time, and thank God it happened today. I'm very happy now."