Cejudo Finally Beats Dvalishvili

Henry Cejudo picked up his first win over Merab Dvalishvili, pinning him in just 36 seconds in the Real American Freestyle main event in Cleveland.

The result flips the series in Cejudo's favor after two prior losses — a decision defeat at UFC 298 in 2024, and a freestyle wrestling loss last month in which Dvalishvili rallied from 8-0 down to win 11-8. This time, Cejudo scored a four-point takedown before trapping Dvalishvili and driving him to the mat for the pin.

"Merab is a machine. I've been fighting for 13 years on my feet and I took the 'L' from him. I knew that he wasn't necessarily scrambling… obviously I got the pin," Cejudo

Cejudo signaled interest in staying active, calling out Cody Garbrandt for a potential next matchup. Dvalishvili said he'd be open to a third meeting with Cejudo down the line, but is focused first on his UFC 333 main event bout in October against Petr Yan, who took his bantamweight title last December.