What’s next for Merab Dvalishvili?
Georgian fighter Merab Dvalishvili has really been making some waves since debuting in the UFC back in December of 2017. Though he lost his first two fights with the promotion, he’s really started to come into his own as of late. It could also be said he shouldn’t have lost either of those fights, given they both ended in controversy. At 29-years-old, Dvalishvili certainly has a very bright future ahead of him if he keeps fighting the was he has, he’s already broken so many records.
Dvalishvili started out his mixed martial arts career with a 1-2 record, losing to a 3-1 opponent in his debut, and losing to Bellator contender Ricky Bandejas who was 2-0 at the time, both via decision. He then won his next six fights, capturing, and defending the Ring of Combat Bantamweight Championship, before being signed to the UFC.
His first fight in the UFC came against former Coalition of Combat Featherweight Champion, WFF Featherweight Champion, and three-time King of the Cage Flyweight Champion Frankie Saenz, who’d had six fights inside the octagon at the time. He ended up losing the fight via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28), though he took the NCAA Division I wrestler down eleven times without being taken down a single time himself, as well as out-striking the UFC veteran 104-66 in total strikes. Almost everyone disputed the decision, but to say the least, we all knew we had a hot prospect on our hands afterward.
Dvalishvili’s next fight came against former two-time LFA Bantamweight Champion Ricky Simon. He dominated this fight from start to finish, or from start until the last minute of round three. He dropped Simon in round one, and really just tossed him around and out-paced him the entire time. He took the state champion wrestler down six times officially, though it appeared he got more takedowns than that, and was taken down twice in the fight, but he got right back up each time.
This was a great fight that showed us all once again the endurance Dvalishvili brings to the cage. With about one minute left, Dvalishvili took Simon down again, but was wrapped up in a guillotine choke. He remained in the choke until the end of the fight, and though he was conscious, the referee declared it a submission win for Simon after the bell sounded.
Going from 7-2 to 7-4, the UFC gave Merab Dvalishvili 25-fight veteran Terrion Ware, who he easily dominated to a unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-25) victory. He took Ware down five times, and out-struck him 225-22 in total strikes, one of the biggest strike differentials in UFC history. His next fight came against The Ultimate Fighter 27 winner Brad Katona, a very well rounded Canadian prospect out of Straight Blast Gym. He also took Katona down five times, out-struck him 215-43 in total strikes, and defeated him via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
After improving his record to 9-4 with a win over Katona, Dvalishvili then fought former TPF Flyweight Champion, and interim LFA Flyweight and Bantamweight Champion Casey Kenney. This fight was even more dominant than his two previous, as he took Kenney down twelve times, and out-struck him 114-47 in total strikes, winning the fight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 29-28). This is still Kenney’s only loss inside the octagon; he has wins over Ray Borg, Manny Bermudez, and Louis Smolka, all great fighters, and Dvalishvili absolutely dominated him.
This brings us to his most recent outing at UFC on ESPN 10 against former Combate Americas Bantamweight Champion Gustavo Lopez. He was supposed to fight former UFC flyweight title challenger and former SCS Flyweight Champion Ray Borg, but Borg withdrew himself from the bout due to personal reasons, and was replaced by Lopez.
Dvalishvili’s personal best of twelve takedowns in a single fight was broken, as he landed thirteen against Lopez, and out-struck him 110-49 in total strikes, winning this fight also via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25). He just keeps coming forward, throwing fists, kicks, and shooting takedowns; forget a third lung, Dvalishvili has a fourth. He just doesn’t get tired, ever.
Now that this Georgian tank is 4-2 in the UFC, what’s next for him? He’s already broken so many records in just six UFC fights, and as stated above, he could very easily be 6-0 in the UFC and 13-2 as a professional, rather than 4-2 in the UFC and 11-4 as a professional. It’s going to take a very elite, driven, and durable bantamweight to beat him.
Dvalishvili already has the most takedowns in UFC bantamweight history, and the margin isn’t even close. He has 39 takedowns in his five fights at 135 lbs. The next best is 26, which Urijah Faber and Ricky Simon are tied for, two stud wrestlers in their own right. Obviously, if his fight with Lopez was at bantamweight, rather than a 140 lb catchweight, he’d have 52 takedowns at 135 lbs, which is exactly twice as many as the spot directly below him.
He’s also now one of only two fighters ever in UFC history to have three fights where they had double-digit takedowns in a single fight, the other being Demetrious Johnson.
His other records include the most ground strikes landed in a single bantamweight fight at 189, the most body strikes landed in a single bantamweight fight at 127, the most takedowns landed in a single bantamweight fight at twelve, the most takedown attempts in a single bantamweight fight at 24, most takedowns attempted in a single bantamweight round at 12, the most strikes landed in a round of a bantamweight fight at 114, and the most strikes attempted in a single bantamweight round at 153. Those are some insanely high numbers! Imagine what he could do in a five round fight.
He may very well be the most prolific takedown artist in UFC history by time it’s all said and done. Georges St-Pierre has the most takedowns in UFC history at 90, Dvalishvili already has more than half that many in just six appearances. Colby Covington and Jon Fitch are tied at tenth place for the most takedowns in UFC history with 58, and Khabib Nurmagomedov is at number nine with 59. With the way things have been going for him, one more fight and he’ll be on that list already.
Forget the sky, there really is no limit for this guy. His striking is very good, and his wrestling and cardio are just on another level. He’s almost like a Khabib Nurmagomedov with better striking, not that ‘The Eagle’ isn’t a good striker, he is, but Dvalishvili blends everything together so beautifully. The pace he sets is just unmatched, we all saw that in his fight with Saenz, but that’s how he fights every time! It’s so fun to watch and it’s so effective, no one can keep up.
If there’s one criticism, it’d be that he hasn’t finished anyone in the UFC thus far. Even if he was given the nod in the Saenz fight and didn’t get an unfortunate call in the Simon fight, he still wouldn’t have any UFC finishes. It’s not like he needs to finish his opponents in order to be elite, it’s very evident he is regardless, but perhaps he’d gain fans more quickly and get noticed more if he did.
After his fight with Gustavo Lopez, Merab Dvalishvili stated he’d like to fight Sean O’Malley next. That’d be such a great fight; O’Malley just took the No. 15 spot in the rankings with his knockout over Eddie Wineland, and Dvalishvili is looking to get ranked himself. However, it’s doubtful that’s the next match up considering the UFC would want to continue building both of these talents, and if they fought one another, one of them would of course have to lose.
It’s not very often we get someone with single-digit UFC fights that’s breaking records, let alone numerous records. Whatever comes next, it’s a sure thing he’ll continue breaking them and continue growing into an elite mixed martial artist. What’s next for Merab Dvalishvili?
