Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili has opted out of surgery after breaking his nose during a sparring accident.
The 35-year-old revealed that the injury occurred as he was kneed during training. Dvalishvili has revealed his nose is broken in two places, which would require surgery. In an Instagram video, Dvalishvili said:
What a good day and what a stupid accident. Again, 12 years after, my nose is f—ed up even worse. As you see, it's even more cracked, same direction. When I touch, my bones are broken inside, and one side I can't even breathe.
This marks the second time Dvalishvili has broken his nose, with the first break occurring 12 years ago during his professional debut. The injury has left his nose more crooked than before, with one side completely obstructing his breathing.
Surgery Would Require Year-Long Recovery
After consulting with a nose surgeon, Dvalishvili learned that fixing the injury would require re-breaking other bones to straighten his nose properly. The recovery timeline of one year proved too long for the active fighter to accept.
I did my X-ray, and X-ray shows that my nose is broken at two places," Dvalishvili explained. "I just saw doctor, nose surgeon, and he said if he will fix my nose and then make straight, then he has to re-break other bones too, and it will take one more year to heal up. Of course, I don't want to do that.
The surgeon suggested Dvalishvili could postpone the surgery until after retirement, but the fighter rejected that option as well.
I said, 'I'm not going into retirement the next 20 years.' So, I guess I'm going to keep my nose even more crooked than what it used to be before," he said.
