The Most Famous
MARTIAL ARTS from Georgia
This page contains a list of the greatest Georgian Martial Arts. The pantheon dataset contains 179 Martial Arts, 2 of which were born in Georgia. This makes Georgia the birth place of the 21st most number of Martial Arts behind Italy, and Sweden.
Top 4
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Georgian Martial Arts of all time. This list of famous Georgian Martial Arts is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Merab Dvalishvili (b. 1991)
With an HPI of 49.95, Merab Dvalishvili is the most famous Georgian Martial Arts. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.
Merab Dvalishvili (Georgian: მერაბ დვალიშვილი [ˈmerab ˈdʷaliʃʷili]; born January 10, 1991) is a Georgian and American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion. Dvalishvili is considered as one of the greatest Bantamweights of all time. He is also the first Georgian-born champion in UFC history. As of July 1, 2025, he is #3 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. Dvalishvili's UFC career began with two losses against Frankie Saenz and Ricky Simón. Since then, he has been on a 14-fight win streak—the fourth longest in UFC history—defeating former champions, including José Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo and Sean O'Malley. His 117 successful takedowns are the most in UFC history.
2. Arman Tsarukyan (b. 1996)
With an HPI of 46.44, Arman Tsarukyan is the 2nd most famous Georgian Martial Arts. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Arman Nairovich Tsarukyan (Armenian: Արման Նաիրիի Ծառուկյան; born October 11, 1996) is an Armenian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 18, 2025, he is #1 in the UFC lightweight rankings and as of August 19, 2025, he is #14 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
3. Irakli Tsirekidze (b. 1982)
With an HPI of 44.80, Irakli Tsirekidze is the 3rd most famous Georgian Martial Arts. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Irakli Tsirekidze (Georgian: ირაკლი ცირეკიძე) (born 3 May 1982) is a Georgian judoka. On 15 September 2007, he won a gold medal at the world judo championships beating Greek Ilias Iliadis by yuko. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal with beating Algerian Amar Benikhlef in the final. He became head coach of the Georgian National Judo Team after the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
4. Avtandil Tchrikishvili (b. 1991)
With an HPI of 37.37, Avtandil Tchrikishvili is the 4th most famous Georgian Martial Arts. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Avtandili Tchrikishvili (Georgian: ავთანდილ ჭრიკიშვილი; born 18 March 1991) is a Georgian judoka who has been a former world champion. After Tchrikishvilli won the World Championships in 2014, the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs of Georgia named him the Best Georgian Sportsman of 2014. As of 6 June 2016, he was ranked No. 1 in the world.
People
Pantheon has 4 people classified as Georgian martial arts born between 1982 and 1996. Of these 4, 4 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Georgian martial arts include Merab Dvalishvili, Arman Tsarukyan, and Irakli Tsirekidze. As of April 2024, 2 new Georgian martial arts have been added to Pantheon including Merab Dvalishvili, and Arman Tsarukyan.
Living Georgian Martial Arts
Go to all Rankings
Merab Dvalishvili
1991 - Present
HPI: 49.95
Arman Tsarukyan
1996 - Present
HPI: 46.44
Irakli Tsirekidze
1982 - Present
HPI: 44.80
Avtandil Tchrikishvili
1991 - Present
HPI: 37.37
