Merab Dvalishvili broke his nose again during his 12-1 technical fall win over Frankie Edgar at RAF 9, then gave the most Merab answer possible.
MMA Junkie posted the clip from Dvalishvili’s post-match reaction after the RAF 9 match.
Merab Dvalishvili's reaction to breaking his nose at RAF 09 is exactly what you'd expect. 😆 pic.twitter.com/BSnn2VrPl0
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 31, 2026
The injury happened early when Dvalishvili and Edgar clashed heads while fighting for position. Dvalishvili grabbed at his face, continued, and still finished the match by tech fall.
“The nose was fine before, but I got a head butt and broke [my nose again],” Dvalishvili said after the match. “Who cares? I broke my nose many times. It’s never going to stop me. It’s just the nose broken. That’s what we do and it’s all good.”
Dvalishvili had dealt with a similar injury recently while training at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas. Asked about that earlier break, he called it “just another typical day in my life.”
Dvalishvili Still Wants Cejudo And Petr Yan
Edgar made him work first. The UFC Hall of Famer, former lightweight champion, and former Clarion University wrestler led 1-0 after the opening period before Dvalishvili took over. By the third period, Dvalishvili had pushed the pace, built the lead, and closed the match at 12-1.
The win kept the Henry Cejudo match alive. Dvalishvili was scheduled to wrestle Cejudo at RAF 8 before Cejudo withdrew due to injury, and he called for that matchup again after beating Edgar.
His MMA target remains Petr Yan. Their series is tied 1-1, and Dvalishvili said he is staying ready while Yan is away.
“I like to be busy,” Dvalishvili said. “As you guys know, I’m ready for a fight. I’m just waiting for Petr Yan, hopefully he will come back. I just saw he’s on vacation right now. I like to be busy and thank you, RAF.”
The Georgian-American bantamweight built his UFC run around pace, wrestling pressure, and long stretches of control, with wins over Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, and Sean O’Malley. RAF gave him another mat, Edgar gave him another hard clash, and Dvalishvili still left asking for more.
