Georgian UFC lightweight fighter Merab Dvalishvili has been officially named the alternate for the title fight between American Sean O'Malley and Ecuadorian Marlon Vera at UFC 299 on March 9 in Miami, ...
In recent years, the UFC has routinely assigned reserve fighters to title fights, but so far they haven't had to utilize their services.
Dvalishvili is currently riding a 10-fight winning streak that includes three straight victories over former UFC titleholders. In his last appearance at UFC 298, which took place less than three weeks ago, Merab defeated former two-division champion Henry Cejudo by unanimous decision on judges' scorecards and secured his No. 1 contender status.
Watch this story: Dolidze favors Dvalishvili in the fight with O'Malley