Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili started his UFC career with back-to-back defeats.
The last of those losses came in bizarre circumstances when he fought Ricky Simon in April 2018.
Dvalishvili claimed he knocked himself out shooting for a takedown in the third round, which ended with him kicking his legs for a minute as Simon squeezed on a guillotine choke.
‘The Machine’ survived to hear the final bell, but the referee believed he was unconscious when the fight ended and declared a technical submission win for his opponent, who returned to the Octagon at UFC Atlanta on Saturday night.
- READ MORE: Last man to beat Merab Dvalishvili has hilarious reaction to record-equaling UFC 316 title win
Ricky Simon mauls opponent at UFC Atlanta
Simon’s career has not been smooth sailing since he beat Dvalishvili seven years ago.
The 32-year-old headed into his latest fight 1-3 in his last four Octagon outings.
Still, he was able to make it two wins in a row as he mauled Cameron Smootherman at UFC Atlanta.
Simon used his superior grappling skills to dominate his opponent for the first two rounds.
Dvalishvili has done the same to put together a 13-fight winning run since losing to the American.
Smootherman put a few punches together at the end of round three, but they didn’t make a dent.
All three judges gave the fight to Simon with 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 scorecards.
What’s next for Merab Dvalishvili?
Merab Dvalishvili submitted Sean O’Malley to settle their rivalry for good at UFC 316 last weekend.
Post-fight, talk turned to a potential title defense against long-time contender Cory Sandhagen.
UFC CEO Dana White signed off on that matchup during his post-fight press conference.
“The Umar [Nurmagomedov] rematch is interesting,” he said.
“It makes your legacy even better when you’ve ran through everybody twice.”
A reporter followed up by asking: “Do you think that fight will happen before the Cory Sandhagen fight?”
“No, I’m just saying,” White replied to seemingly confirm he plans to make Dvalishvili vs Sandhagen next.