Merab Dvalishvili rolled with one of MMA’s biggest legends during his UFC 320 camp.
Dvalishvili is fast approaching his third assignment of the year, as the Georgian standout returns once again to defend his UFC bantamweight title.
In the co-main event of UFC 320, Dvalishvili will face Cory Sandhagen as the pair of elite 135-pounders set the stage for the light heavyweight championship rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira.
‘The Machine’ has been deep into his preparation for the Las Vegas pay-per-view, and that recently included a visit from the greatest flyweight of all time.
Merab Dvalishvili says Demetrious Johnson could trouble UFC bantamweights
Since Demetrious Johnson retired from MMA in 2024 as the ONE Championship flyweight titleholder, the legendary GOAT contender has been getting into content creation. The latest video on his YouTube channel featured ‘Mighty Mouse’ hitting the mats with Dvalishvili ahead of the Georgian’s third UFC title defense.
During Brazilian jiu-jitsu practice, ‘The Machine’ was able to submit Johnson multiple times, including with one extremely painful move that had the former UFC champion shocked.
“I was caught off-guard and impressed with Merab’s grappling,” Johnson said. “He jumped my guard, went straight into a head-and-arm and he got me in this neck crank.
“It felt like he was going to blow my ribs out. … I could see he was laughing and smiling to people…having a good time.
“He goes, ‘Everybody knows when I get to this position, it’s pretty much game over.’ It felt like a neck crank and he was also blowing my rib out.”
Despite being made to tap out a few times, the retired ‘Mighty Mouse’ more than held his own on the mats years on from his last fight. So much so that Dvalishvili would back Johnson to give him and the other UFC bantamweights some troubles.
“Demetrious, he is my hero,” Dvalishvili said. “Now I’m training with him.
“He has all the speed, all the power, all the technique. I mean, he accomplished everything. He’s been UFC champion, ONE FC champion…now he’s enjoying life.
“But if he wants to do it, I think he can still do it,” Dvalishvili continued. “I think he can even come in my weight class and give us some problems.”
Merab Dvalishvili targets takedown milestone at UFC 320
The work Dvalishvili put in with Johnson may help him achieve a notable goal at UFC 320.
After surpassing Georges St-Pierre’s tally of 90, Dvalishvili wants to reach 100 takedowns in the UFC when he shares the cage with Sandhagen.
‘The Machine’ is currently top of the all-time list with 97, meaning he requires just three against ‘The Sandman’ on October 4 to become the first takedown centurion.
“I think I will have 100 takedowns after this fight,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie. “I’m not going to focus on that because I’m going to focus more on striking, but I think it will come naturally, you know?
“When I finished Sean O’Malley at the end of the third round, I was missing something. I wanted to do more takedowns, more fighting.
“Let’s see how our fight goes (at UFC 320),” Dvalishvili continued. “If we fight five rounds, easy, I will get three takedowns — easy. I will hit the 100 takedowns. No problem.”