Merab Dvalishvili has slowly but surely crept up the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight ladder and now finds himself closer than ever to title contention at 135 pounds.
The rugged 31-year-old grappler will test his considerable mettle against a true all-time great when he takes on Jose Aldo in a featured UFC 278 attraction on Saturday at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. Dvalishvili climbs into the Octagon with the wind of a seven-fight winning streak at his back. He last competed at UFC 266, where he dispatched former World Series of Fighting Marlon Moraes with punches in the second round of their Sept. 25 pairing.
As Dvalishvili pores over the remaining details associated with his forthcoming battle against Aldo, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. His start was subpar.
Dvalishvili made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of 23 on Jan. 24, 2014, and it did not go as he had hoped. He reached the finish line on the wrong side of a majority decision against Darren Mimi at Ring of Combat 47 and actually wound up losing two of his first three fights. Dvalishvili has gone 13-2 since.
2. He planted roots in fertile ground.
“The Machine” operates out of the Serra-Longo Fight Team, where he outfits his repertoire under the tutelage of onetime UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra and striking guru Ray Longo. Among those with whom Dvalishvili has shared the training room: current UFC bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling and former UFC middleweight titlist Chris Weidman.
3. A regional penthouse served as his springboard.
Dvalishvili laid claim to the vacant Ring of Combat bantamweight crown when he submitted Sukhrob Aydarbekov with a second-round armbar at ROC 58 on Feb. 24, 2017. He made one successful title defense—he wrecked Raufeon Stots with a spinning backfist in 15 seconds some three months later—before he signed with the UFC.
4. He maximizes his strengths.
The Tbilisi, Georgia, native holds the rank of black belt in judo and earned a silver medal at the 2019 World Sambo Championships. Not surprisingly, Dvalishvili brough those skills to the UFC with him. He ranks first on the promotion’s all-time bantamweight list in takedowns completed with 50, second in total strikes landed with 1,232 and fifth in control time at 47:40.
5. Judges often earn their money when they draw his assignment.
Dvalishvili has gone the distance 13 times in his 18-fight career and carries a 10-3 record in those bouts. In fact, his technical knockout of Moraes snapped a string of six consecutive appearances in which he stood before the cageside judiciary.
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