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Dominick Cruz reveals key factor for beating UFC Champion Merab Dvalishvili

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Chris De Santiago | Last updated Feb 4, 2025 11:30 AM ET

Nothing can stop Merab Dvalishvili - or that's what we thought.

The UFC bantamweight champion hasn't lost in a while, currently on a 12-fight win streak inside the UFC. Dvalishvili owns wins over Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O'Malley, and Henry Cejudo, stylistic nightmares the Georgian fighter put to bed with his wrestling skills and unmatched cardio.

Nobody has really had an answer for Dvalishvili recently, Ricky Simon the last fighter to defeat Dvalishvili all the way back in 2018.

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Dominick Cruz's Answer To Stop Dvalishvili

So, what would it take to overload "The Machine" once again? Not to say it'd be easy, but two-time champion Dominick Cruz thinks it's something he's known for.

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"I have the answer to this. It's footwork," Cruz said on the Anik & Florian Podcast. "If you can move your feet, you can move your body. And if you're not there, it doesn't matter how strong, it doesn't matter how good your cardio is, none of that matters if you can't be touched, it becomes a wash. One person's getting hit out of the two. The person that has the footwork gets to hit the person that doesn't because the person who stands in front and doesn't have that, that gap filled is there to be hit."

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Cruz Says Footwork 'Key Fundamental' To Beat Dvalishvili

Cruz reigned over the bantamweight division for multiple years, his slick in-and-out footwork setting himself apart from the rest of the pack.

The fighters being from different generations, Dominick Cruz believes footwork is Dvalishvili's kryptonite, the current champion not having many weaknesses with grappling credentials, relentless pace, and the gas tank to back it.

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"I see footwork being a key fundamental in beating somebody like Merab Dvalishvili because he fights in straight lines," Cruz said.

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"Everything he does is to to set up or take a shot, and his shot attempts set up his strike attempts. But all of them are on the same set of train tracks. What happens if you put a bunch of loops in a train track? What happens to the train becomes useless, right? So this is the thing that certain people in the division can tap into."

When it comes to footwork and athletic ability nowadays, "Suga" Sean O'Malley fits the bill, but the long and lanky striker failed to find his kill-shots on Dvalishvili the first time they met at UFC 306 in September, where he was taken down multiple times across five rounds.