"Best country in the world" - Wishes pour in from fans and fighters as Merab Dvalishvili becomes citizen of the USA

Merab Dvalishvili is now a United States citizen.

Twelve years after initially moving to New York from Tbilisi, Georgia, Dvalishvili announced to fans on social media that he had completed the requirements to attain American citizenship. The bantamweight noted that his "heart will always be in Georgia," but he is "grateful" for the opportunities that the United States has given him in his career.

Since moving to the country to pursue a career in MMA, Dvalishvili now resides in New York and Las Vegas, training with both the Serra Longo Fight Team and Syndicate MMA.

The post from 'The Machine' caught the attention of Jorge Masvidal, who congratulated the bantamweight contender for becoming a member of the "best country in the world."

Masvidal commented

"👏👏👏 best country in the world"

Having last competed at UFC 298, the now-Georgian American weighed in as the backup for the UFC 299 title fight between Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera.

Dvalishvili's close friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling was also among the first to react, saying:

"Congrats brother!!! Amazing!"

Others commented:

"Amazing brother"

"Congrats Merab! Mexico next"

"Who let this menace in? Time to show O'Malley these multi-cultural hands"

"You can become a Mexican citizen. We welcome you with open arms hermano"

View more reactions to Merab Dvalishvili becoming an American citizen below:

Merab Dvalishvili's 10-fight win streak

Merab Dvalishvili has solid backing to be the next UFC bantamweight title challenger, largely due to his current 10-fight win streak. Since losing back-to-back fights to begin his UFC career, Dvalishvili has not lost, including six straight wins over ranked opponents.

Since losing to Ricky Simón and Frankie Saenz, Dvalishvili would defeat Terrion Ware, Brad Katona, Casey Kenney, and Gustavo Lopez to place himself in the promotional rankings and a chance to advance against former title challenger John Dodson.

The Georgian would get past Dodson and pick up wins over Cody Stamann, Marlon Moraes, and Jose Aldo to set up a top-five matchup with Petr Yan, which he would shock fans by dominating.

Improving with each performance, Dvalishvili added to his win streak with another dominant performance over former champion Henry Cejudo to force Dana White into finally admitting he is the likely next opponent for Sean O'Malley.

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