5 Cars Vs. ‘The Machine’

The Georgian fighter has been travelling all over the world, only to get into a bad car accident the moment he returns home to New York.

UFC bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili loves to goof around on his Instagram account, but there was nothing funny about today’s video which featured the aftermath of a multi-car crash.

The video opens with a stunned Merab sitting in the back of a vehicle with all the airbags deployed. He hands a phone on the floor back to the driver before climbing out, muttering “S—, this is crazy.”

On the street there are multiple cars which are damaged from the accident. A red car has the hood panel smashed in. The black car Dvalishvili was in has both doors crumpled in, while a white car has its front driver side completely destroyed.

‘’I am in New York for one day, couple hours, and I got in a huge accident,” Merab says as he continues to film the scene of the accident. “I was in a Uber, and our car got hit by some other cars. I was sitting here. I got hit. Thank God I’m okay.’’

Any time you manage to survive a car accident without injuring your neck or spine is a good day, but Dvalishvili has extra reason to be happy he emerged from this incident without injury. “The Machine” has been promised the next title shot against 135 pound champion Sean O’Malley, and he’s been waiting not-so-patiently for a fight date to be announced.

Timing is everything in this sport, though. If Dvalishvili was hurt in the accident and couldn’t fight later in 2024, we have no doubt O’Malley and the UFC would move on to a less tough and more popular opponent.

Not like Dvalishvili has been doing poorly on the popularity front lately. Since defeating Henry Cejudo at UFC 298, Merab has been all over social media joking around and making new fans. He engaged in a lunch-stealing feud with Paulo Costa at the UFC Performance Institute. He dug up a Sean O’Malley lookalike and has been performing TikTok dances with the guy in front of the Sphere. He just got back from a big promotional trip to India … only to get in this car crash.

We’re happy to know Merab is safe, and the O’Malley lookalike wasn’t involved or hurt either. We’ll keep you informed when we know more about the situation, and a confirmed date for Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley.