During Merab Dvalishvili’s dominant run in the UFC bantamweight division, he’s scored wins over some of the biggest names at 135lb, including a certain heavy-hitting boogeyman.
This coming Saturday at UFC 316, Merab Dvalishvili looks to make the second defense of his bantamweight title when he takes on Sean O’Malley in a huge rematch.
Ahead of their rematch in Newark, New Jersey, Dvalishvili has claimed that he will knock out ‘Suga’ Sean, despite being widely known for his dominant and relentless grappling.
‘The Machine’ is widely regarded as the greatest bantamweight of all time, overtaking the likes of Aljamain Sterling and Dominick Cruz, and one of the reasons is because of his legendary 12-fight win streak, which is the longest in the division’s history.
Throughout his extremely impressive 12-fight win streak, the Georgian has picked up wins over some of the bantamweight greats, including a win over bantamweight boogeyman, John Dodson.
John Dodson was cut from the UFC following loss to Merab Dvalishvili
Dodson is widely regarded as one of the hardest-hitters of the lower weight classes in UFC history and former champion Demetrious Johnson revealed Dodson was the hardest-hitter he ever faced.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the promotion announced that the historic heavyweight title trilogy fight between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic would take place at the UFC Apex at UFC 252.
In the co-main event, O’Malley was handed his first-ever UFC loss when he had his head drilled into the canvas by ‘Chito’ Vera, after suffering a bizarre leg injury.
On the undercard, though, ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili looked to score his fifth UFC win in a row, taking on Dodson.
Early in the fight, Dvalishvili looked to strike with Dodson, despite seemingly being at a disadvantage in terms of speed and power.
After keeping away from any of Dodson’s dangerous attacks, ‘The Machine’ attempted a takedown with just over a minute left of the round, pressing Dodson up against the cage and taking the first round.
Not long into round two, Dvalishvili showcased his sheer dominance when he picked up ‘The Magician’ near the cage and carried him into the center of the Octagon where he slammed him down. Again, the majority of the round played out on the feet with ‘The Machine’ more than holding his own.
In round three, Merab once again dominated the majority of the exchanges, landing the heavier shots and buzzing Dodson on several occasions.
Following his loss to Dvalishvili, Dodson was released by the promotion.
Dvalishvili called out Sean O’Malley following UFC 252 win
With Dvalishvili and O’Malley both competing on the UFC 252 card, ‘The Machine’ called for a fight against ‘Suga’ following his win over Dodson, four years before they finally clashed at UFC 306.
“Good luck, Sean O’Malley, I wish him the best and I hope he wins and we will see after,” Merab told Joe Rogan after the fight.