No UFC champion in history has successfully defended their title four times in a calendar year. Merab Dvalishvili wants to change that.
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili continues to live up to his nickname — and even his coach admits it’s hard to shut "The Machine” down.
Fresh off a historic win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 this past Saturday in Las Vegas, Syndicate MMA head coach John Wood is already being forced to combat his fighter’s ceaseless grind. Dvalishvili, 34, expressed interest post-fight in making UFC history once again — this time by becoming the first UFC champion to successfully defend their title for a fourth time in a calendar year, with hopes to fight again in December. Speaking Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Wood gave his perspective on the champ's ambitions.
“I’d like to see Merab get some rest,” Wood acknowledged to Uncrowned.
“I don’t want the [Alex] Pereira thing to happen, where you’re overworked and something bad happens just because you’ve pushed the limits too much. We don’t know when the human body’s going to go, ‘Hey, this is too much or too little, or it’s enough.’"
Dvalishvili has already made UFC history in plenty of ways during his impressive 14-fight hot streak. His 20 takedowns in his victory over Sandhagen set a new record for a UFC title bout and also pushed Dvalishvili above the 100-takedown mark for his career with the MMA leader — making him the UFC first fighter to ever accomplish the latter feat. In addition, Dvalishvili's current run represents the third-longest overall win streak in UFC history. Only three names sit ahead of him at this point — former UFC champions Islam Makhachev and Kamaru Usman (15), and UFC Hall of Famer Anderson Silva (16).
Wood, who’s been through the fire of multiple Dvalishvili camps, isn’t shy about the toll they take. That being said, he ultimately expects a December turnaround to indeed be on tap for the champ.
“He’s going to want that record," Wood said of Dvalishvili. “So can he do it? Absolutely. Do I think his body will hold up? Absolutely. Am I a fan of it? I’m 50-50. I’d like him to enjoy some of the stuff [outside MMA], but the dude eats, sleeps and breathes fighting. This is his life. Who am I to tell him not to?
“If he’s healthy and happy and ready to come back, great. But I’m not looking forward to getting the s*** beat out of me for another six weeks. Merab camps are the hardest camps. I lost like 15 pounds during this one [for UFC 320]. We’ll see, but my gut says he’s going to want to do it.”
“The thing with Merab is he doesn’t take a lot of damage," Wood added. "He lives his life literally [as] the fight life. When he’s not in camp, he’ll go home for a week or two, hang out, then come right back. He trains every day like he’s in fight camp. So it’s not really a big switch for him [to start a fight camp].”
Dvalishvili’s latest win over Sandhagen didn’t provide many surprises to his team, Wood said. The game plan was simple: Apply pressure, close the distance and take away Sandhagen’s space. It worked, though Wood acknowledged the title challenger gave Team Dvalishvili a few unexpected looks early.
But in the end, there was never much concern from his team once the champ went to work.
"We knew Cory was going to be a tougher fight,” Wood said. “I don't know if there's such thing as a tough fight for Merab. Cory's one of the best in the world and he gave us a great fight. There was some things he was doing that were making Merab think a little bit. But it does get to a point where Merab is so in control of these fights, and he's able to figure guys out so quickly in the fight — he's got one of the best fight IQs in the business right now. His mind just works on a different level when he's figuring out these fighters.
"But I do agree he definitely has fun out there, and again, we're still turning that corner of becoming a finisher. ... I really do think we're going to hit that path where it's going to be more finishes than decisions here shortly."
That potential finishing ability, Wood said, is more about composure than power. Against Sandhagen, Dvalishvili had a chance to close the show in Round 2 after he stunned his challenger with a flurry of hard punches. But the champion defaulted back to his wrestling instincts when the opportunity presented itself, and Sandhagen was able to survive to fight an additional three rounds.
Those types of moments have only acted as confidence boosters for the team, Wood said, and are what lead the Syndicate coach to believe the future looks even bleaker for Dvalishvili's upcoming opponents.
“Merab now knows he’s capable of knocking people out,” Wood said. “He had [Sandhagen] rocked, he was excited, he got into wrestle mode real quick. If he would have just given some space and stepped back and started unloading on him, then I think that fight gets stopped. I think we’re talking maybe three to five punches on the ground. It was very close.”
For now, Wood hopes the next few weeks involve rest more than repetition, but experience tells him that probably won’t last long. Dvalishvili’s processes don't change — even when the fights are over.
He’ll take a short break, go home to Georgia, and then return to the gym to start the cycle again. It’s not about momentum or hype. For Dvalishvili, it’s just what he does.
Category: General Sports
