As well as being the reigning UFC bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili is well-known for his extremely eccentric personality.
After dethroning Sean O’Malley at the monumental UFC 306 event last September, Merab Dvalishvili instantly became the star that he’d threatened to become for several years.
His starpower then increased tenfold earlier this year when Dvalishvili handed Umar Nurmagomedov his first-ever defeat, successfully defending his title as a big underdog.
Following his win over Nurmagomedov, Merab ‘The Machine’ surpassed Georges St-Pierre’s record for the most takedowns in UFC history, which led to St-Pierre labeling him ‘The King’.
Dvalishvili almost falls off cliff whilst showing off dancing skills
The Georgian champion is currently out in Monaco enjoying his time away from action.
As well as being well-known for his dominant MMA style, ‘The Machine’ has also garnered a reputation for being an extreme risk taker out of camp.
A few years ago, a video went viral of Dvalishvili diving head-first into a body of water that was frozen over, which resulted in a pretty gnarly head injury.
During his time in Monaco, the 34-year-old took the chance to show off his traditional Georgian dancing skills, however, he riskily did so whilst standing on the edge of a cliff.
Things almost took a terrible turn when Dvalishvili lost his footing after pirouetting 360 degrees and began slipping towards the cliff edge.
After crashing into the rubble, the bantamweight champion made it back to his feet, seemingly shaken up by his near-fatal mistake, holding the back of his leg, wincing in pain.
Dvalishvili’s antics have previously gotten him into trouble with his boss, Dana White, as White furiously labeled him ‘dumb’ after he attempted to remove his own eyebrow stitches with garden shears.
UFC fighters beg Dvalishvili to ‘be careful’ following near disaster
Commenting on the video of ‘The Machine’, fellow UFC fighter, Johnny Walker said: “Be careful champ, we need you to defend your belt.”
Karolina Kowalkiewicz also commented: “OMG. Merab please focus on fighting and give up dancing because you will hurt yourself.”
White recently hinted that Dvalishvili’s next title defense will likely come in a rematch against Sean O’Malley.
Dvalishvili and O’Malley then reunited in a hot tub recently and talked about their potential second clash with the target date still unknown.