The UFC’s bantamweight champion was able to hold his own with a decorated wrestler during a playful encounter on the beach.
Merab Dvalishvili is well known for embarking on often dangerous side quests whilst continuing to be the best in the world at 135-pounds.
His grappling credentials speak for themselves with the champ being one of the most impressive wrestlers that we have seen inside the Octagon, to the point where Dvalishvili is competing with the great Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Georgian recently got the opportunity to prove that once again during a fun encounter with one of the most talked about wrestlers in the world who has spent some time with Jon Jones ahead of a potential transition into MMA.
Surprisingly, ‘The Machine’ faired relatively well despite one man having a significant size advantage.
Merab Dvalishvili holds his own against Gable Steveson despite the huge size difference
Gable Steveson is the top wrestler in the United States right now which makes the potential of seeing him compete in MMA very exciting.
The former Olympic gold medallist recently suffered a huge upset loss to Wyatt Hendrickson as he looked to win his third NCAA National Championship.
At 24-years-old, standing at 6’1 and weighing over 265-pounds, Steveson is a phenomenal athlete but that didn’t mean he could get the better of the UFC’s bantamweight champion.
Merab Dvalishvili and Steveson engaged in a playful wrestling exchange on the beach during a recent promo shoot for the clothing brand Takedown which they’re both sponsored by.
After giving the American some advice on combining striking with wrestling, Dvalishvili signalled that it was time to get serious after he handed his phone off before getting back to it.
Despite being at a huge size disadvantage as a 135-pounder who is 5’6, ‘The Machine’ more than held his own and nearly secured a takedown after Steveson lost his balance when trying to trip the champion.
Unfortunately for the UFC’s cardio king, the bigger man used his strength to lift Dvalishvili over him as he was falling to stop the Georgian from ending up on top.
Merab Dvalishvili holds the record for the most takedowns attempted in a UFC fight
Along with having the record for the most takedowns landed in UFC history, Merab Dvalishvili holds the single record for the most takedowns attempted in one UFC fight.
‘The Georgian’ faced off with the former bantamweight champion Petr Yan in his first main event spotlight back in March of 2023.
The fight ended up being the best example of the relentless pace that Dvalishvili fights at having attempted a grand total of 49 takedowns over the five-round duration.
He only succeeded with 11 of them but in the process, he shut down ‘No Mercy’ by constantly giving him something to think about which in turn, saw him win each round on all three of the scorecards.