A closer look at Merab Dvalishvili

[HuskySamoan]

My boy Merab needs some love and the true Co-Main event of UFC 278 deserves more attention. Merab is a mini Khabib, he weaponizes his cardio with relentless takedowns, forward pressure and high volume striking, He's a comprehensive blend of Wrestling, Combat Sambo and a Black Belt competitor in Judo. I will be both sad and happy for whoever wins and loses this match, Aldo's one last run for achieving 2 divisional champion status is quite the Cinderella story.

Did you know Merab competed as a black belt in Judo in his home country of Georgia?


Merab Dvalishvili was also a silver medalist at the 2019 Sambo World Championships, he lost in a competitive final round. If you look closely he defeated future UFC Prospect Saidyokub Kakhramonov who would place Bronze at the 2019 Sambo World Championships, Saidyokub is also a Judo Black Belt and won the Junior US Judo Open when was 16 back in 2012. (if anyone has complete match footage of that Sambo event that'd be awesome)


Merab's first martial art was traditional Georgian wrestling Chidaoba but he entered a Wrestling open tournament recently in New York, the 2021 Ken Lesser Memorial Summer Heat at Hofstra which I believe is a pretty small event but he won every match.

Merab Also had a couple big wins before his UFC Career over:

2x D2 National Champion Wrestler and 18-1 Bellator contender Raufeon Stots by spinning backfist KO in the first round.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqmwBRbP068&t=64s

Also vs Tony Gravely 23-7 (4-2 UFC) who was a D1 Wrestler and a Virginia 4x All State wrestler in Highschool.

 

[Bilzerian]

Murican wrestlers always have trouble to deal with upper body throw & trip. Those beast from Eastern Europe know answer about it!

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

I remember him getting choked out while bicycle kicking on the mat and it was hilarious

 

[HuskySamoan]

I remember him getting choked out while bicycle kicking on the mat and it was hilarious

I remember that too, truly a bizarre finish.

 

[Question]

Good job TS!

I remember him getting choked out while bicycle kicking on the mat and it was hilarious

I remember that too, truly a bizarre finish.

That was a weird ending and his last lost. It was against Ricky Simon and I think Merab was up on the cards too before the choke.
Tbh that fight aged well for both men considering the run they're on now.

IMO the lose of Aldo/Merab should face Ricky Simon next(unless Aldo retires if he loses).

 

[Kryptt]

I like Merab and expect em to take the W tomorrow. Will be a tad sad for Aldo if so but so it goes. He's racked up a nice 7 fight win streak as well, Would like to see him do some more damage to the top 5.

 

[HuskySamoan]

I like Merab and expect em to take the W tomorrow. Will be a tad sad for Aldo if so but so it goes. He's racked up a nice 7 fight win streak as well, Would like to see him do some more damage to the top 5.

Honestly, I'm not excited to see Aldo in 5 round fights anymore, he simply doesn't have the gas tank for them. I would love to see him win the title and then retire though, he's one of the unsung all time greats of MMA. It is truly surreal to see TJ and Aldo both in the title picture in 2022...

Good job TS!


That was a weird ending and his last lost. It was against Ricky Simon and I think Merab was up on the cards too before the choke.
Tbh that fight aged well for both men considering the run they're on now.

IMO the lose of Aldo/Merab should face Ricky Simon next(unless Aldo retires if he loses).

Thanks for the kudos! The fight definitely aged well for both men, Merab definitely won the 1st and 2nd round but Simon was coming on strong in the 3rd, if it went to a decision its safe to say Merab would have won. I honestly thought with how dominant of a wrestler Simon has looked that he was a collegiant wrestler of some kind but while he was great in highschool he missed the college team he tried out for and went straight to MMA at 19-20.

Umar Nurmagomedov wants the Simon fight and I'd love to see it but I can understand Simon not taking that fight. If Aldo loses there's no way he fights Simon either, retirement or not. There's so many ways you can match up the Bantamweight division since it's so deep but I'd like to start seeing guys like Sandhagen, Yadong, O'Malley, Yanez, Vera etc mix it up with the strong grapplers like Umar, Saidyokub, Merab and Simon. Sterling is at the top of the mountain and he's a phenomenal grappler too. Said Nurmagomedov vs Raoni was a nice example of what I'm talking about, although Said is very obviously well rounded.

 

[G10]

I like Merab, and I'm curious what he's going to do if Sterling remains champ. He seems shredded enough to be able to move up to 145lbs.

Also, I just realized that all of the most successful Serra-Longo fighters were primarily offensive grappler types. Iaquinta and Villante were primarily sprawl & brawlers, and both got to be top 15ish in their division, but Weidman, Sterling, and Merab are vicious control grapplers when they're fighting at their best.

 

[JoeRowe]

Never too impressed tbh. Great cardio & takedowns/mat-returns but his top game leaves a LOT to be desired. His kickboxing footwork is sloppy as hell and he's borderline reckless defensively.

Seems like a nice hardworking guy but I think Aldo tunes him up tmrw.

 

[HuskySamoan]

I like Merab, and I'm curious what he's going to do if Sterling remains champ. He seems shredded enough to be able to move up to 145lbs.

Also, I just realized that all of the most successful Serra-Longo fighters were primarily offensive grappler types. Iaquinta and Villante were primarily sprawl & brawlers, and both got to be top 15ish in their division, but Weidman, Sterling, and Merab are vicious control grapplers when they're fighting at their best.

Might just be a coincidence but I feel like Longo does a pretty solid job developing the striking game for guys of these types. And Serra seems to really broaden and develop guys like Aljo and Weidman's grappling from just a strong wrestler base too.

 

[TyronJemalauri]

Merab is a Judoka basically, needs to be named as a Judo guy in UFC, he said in an interview that was his base and before MMA it was his dream to become Olympic Judo champ, but because olympics banned leg attacks in Judo he switched to mma

 

[wwkirk]

Merab is a Judoka basically, needs to be named as a Judo guy in UFC, he said in an interview that was his base and before MMA it was his dream to become Olympic Judo champ, but because olympics banned leg attacks in Judo he switched to mma

So prior to a certain year Olympic Judo had different rules?

 

[HuskySamoan]

So prior to a certain year Olympic Judo had different rules?

Yeah I think it changed between 2008 and 2012 for international rules.

 

[markys00]

Murican wrestlers always have trouble to deal with upper body throw & trip. Those beast from Eastern Europe know answer about it!

Georgia is eastern Europe? Gulp..

 

[HuskySamoan]

Georgia is eastern Europe? Gulp..

Dude, people refer to Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tajiks and Kyrgyz fighters as Eastern European all the time. Georgia and Azerbaijan are at least close. Sorta part of both Europe and Asia.

 

[wwkirk]

Georgia is eastern Europe? Gulp..

Depends on who you ask. Wikipedia places it at the "intersection" of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.

Others say,
"Determining whether or not Georgia is a part of Europe or Asia is more difficult than it may seem. As the Caucasus Mountains are sometimes considered to be the easternmost border of Europe, the country of Georgia is technically located in Asia. However, culturally, many people in Georgia consider themselves part of Europe. The truth is that this Eurasian country could fit into either Europe or Asia, depending on which definition you use."
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/is-georgia-in-europe-or-asia.html

Personally, I regard it as European for one reason, that's where Stalin was from. I don't consider him Asian.

 

[Th3Sav4ge]

as long as he isnt fighting aldo im on the merab squad

gonna be weird if he beats aldo and sterling beats tj.

 

[HuskySamoan]

as long as he isnt fighting aldo im on the merab squad

gonna be weird if he beats aldo and sterling beats tj.

At least at 135lbs there's a million other guys who can rise to contention. Merab said if he and Aljo win they are going to have to talk about it.

 

[Rapa]

That was a weird ending and his last lost. It was against Ricky Simon and I think Merab was up on the cards too before the choke.

Merab dominated him for three rounds also knocked him down and he didnt get choked out he was awake after bell and doctor didnt let him get up it was bad call from everyone he won that fight also in his first fight against sanez he was really sick he had high temperature and still won fight but got robbed

 

[Portland8242]

He's more Colby's style than Khabib's, just with a slightly different approach to takedowns than Colby..