Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Dvalishvili (Georgian: მერაბ დვალიშვილი; born January 10, 1991) is a Georgian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the UFC's bantamweight division. As of July 14, 2020, he is #15 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.[4]

Merab Dvalishvili
Merab Dvalishvili at UFN 136 in Moscow
Born (1991-01-10) January 10, 1991
Tbilisi, Georgia
Other namesThe Machine
NationalityGeorgian
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb)
DivisionBantamweight
Reach68[1] in (173 cm)
StyleCombat sambo[2]
Fighting out ofLong Island, New York, United States[3]
TeamSerra-Longo Fight Team
TrainerRay Longo and Matt Serra.[3]
RankBlack belt in Judo[2]
Years active2014–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total16
Wins12
By knockout2
By submission1
By decision9
Losses4
By submission1
By decision3
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

Dvalishvili grew up in Tbilisi, Georgia. He started training in qartuli chidaoba (traditional wrestling) and khridoli (transitional fighting), Sambo and judo when he was young for self-defense and moved to the United States when he was 21 years old to become a professional MMA fighter. He trains under Ray Longo and Matt Serra.[3]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Dvalishvili started his MMA career in 2014 and fought under various promotions namely the Ring of Combat. He amassed a record of 7–2 prior to competing in the UFC.[5]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Dvalishvili made his UFC debut on December 9, 2017 against Frankie Saenz at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega.[6] He lost the fight via split decision.[7]

His next fight came on April 21, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee against Ricky Simon. He lost the fight via technical submission.[8]

Dvalishvili faced Terrion Ware on September 15, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik.[9] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[10]

Dvalishvili faced Brad Katona on May 4, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy.[11] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[12]

Dvalishvili faced Casey Kenney on February 15, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 167.[13] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[14]

Dvalishvili was scheduled to face Ray Borg on June 13, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Eye vs. Calvillo.[15] However, on June 11, 2020 it was reported that Borg withdrew from the bout and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Gustavo Lopez in a catchweight bout of 140 pounds.[16] Dvalishvili was victorious via unanimous decision.[17]

Dvalishvili faced John Dodson on August 15, 2020 at UFC 252.[18] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[19]

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
16 matches 12 wins 4 losses
By knockout 2 0
By submission 1 1
By decision 9 3
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 12–4 John Dodson Decision (unanimous) UFC 252 August 15, 2020 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 11–4 Gustavo Lopez Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Eye vs. Calvillo 13 June 2020 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Catchweight (140 lb) bout.
Win 10–4 Casey Kenney Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs. Błachowicz 2 15 February 2020 3 5:00 Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States
Win 9–4 Brad Katona Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy 4 May 2019 3 5:00 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Win 8–4 Terrion Ware Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik 15 September 2018 3 5:00 Moscow, Russia
Loss 7–4 Ricky Simon Technical Submission (guillotine choke) UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee 21 April 2018 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Fight of the Night.
Loss 7–3 Frankie Saenz Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega 9 December 2017 3 5:00 Fresno, California, United States
Win 7–2 Raufeon Stots KO (spinning backfist) Ring of Combat 59 2 June 2017 1 0:15 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Defended the Ring of Combat Bantamweight Championship.
Win 6–2 Sukhrob Aydarbekov Submission (armbar) Ring of Combat 58 24 February 2017 2 N/A Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Won the vacant Ring of Combat Bantamweight Championship.
Win 5–2 Tony Gravely Decision (unanimous) Ring of Combat 57 18 November 2016 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 4–2 Paul Grant Decision (unanimous) Ring of Combat 56 23 September 2016 3 4:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Return to Bantamweight.
Win 3–2 Matt Tullos Decision (unanimous) CES MMA 36 10 June 2016 3 5:00 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States Featherweight debut.
Win 2–2 Geoffrey Then Decision (unanimous) CES MMA 34 1 April 2016 3 5:00 Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States
Loss 1–2 Ricky Bandejas Decision (unanimous) CFFC 43 1 November 2014 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 1–1 Dennis Dombrow TKO (punches) Ring of Combat 49 19 September 2014 3 0:50 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 0–1 Darren Mima Decision (majority) Ring of Combat 47 24 January 2014 3 4:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Bantamweight debut.

[20]

See also

References
  1. "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  2. "Merab Dvalishvili". ufc.com.
  3. "Merab Dvalishvili brings his country's fighting spirit to ROC 58 | Lou Neglia's Ring of Combat | Next Generation of Mixed Martial Arts!". Merab Dvalishvili brings his country’s fighting spirit to ROC 58 | Lou Neglia's Ring of Combat | Next Generation of Mixed Martial Arts!. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  4. "Rankings | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  5. "Merab Dvalishvili | Lou Neglia's Ring of Combat | Next Generation of Mixed Martial Arts!". Merab Dvalishvili | Lou Neglia's Ring of Combat | Next Generation of Mixed Martial Arts!.
  6. "LI's Dvalishvili to debut at UFC Fresno". Newsday.
  7. "UFC Fight Night 123 results: Frankie Saenz outworks Merab Dvalishvili for split decision". MMA Junkie. 10 December 2017.
  8. MMAjunkie, Matt Erickson. "Fighter Ricky Simon wins by TKO after final bell at UFC Fight Night 128". USA TODAY.
  9. DNA, MMA. "Cage Fury FC Kampioen Jared Gordon tekent UFC contract MMA DNA". Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  10. "UFC Fight Night 136 results: Merab Dvalishvili mauls Terrion Ware, calls for fight with Sean O'Malley". MMA Junkie. 15 September 2018.
  11. "Winnipeg bantamweight Brad Katona added to UFC Vancouver card - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  12. Pearson, Andrew (4 May 2019). "Merab Dvalishvili Defeats Katona Via Wrestling". MMAmania.com.
  13. Staff (2019-12-19). "Bantamweight clash between Casey Kenney and Merab Dvalishvili for UFC Rio Rancho". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2019-12-19.(in Dutch)
  14. Evanoff, Josh (2020-02-15). "UFC Rio Rancho Results: Merab Dvalishvili Dominates Casey Kenney". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  15. Datta, Soumik (2020-06-05). "Ray Borg vs Merab Dvalishvili reportedly set for UFC's June 13 event". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  16. Nolan King and John Morgan (2020-06-11). "Ray Borg out of UFC on ESPN 10, Dvalisvhili now fights Combate Americas champ Lopez (UPDATE)". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  17. Bitter, Shawn (2020-06-13). "UFC on ESPN 10 Results: Merab Dvalishvili's Pace Too Much for Gustavo Lopez". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  18. "John Dodson vs. Merab Dvalishvili added to UFC 252 lineup". MMA Junkie. 2020-07-15. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  19. Vreeland, Daniel (2020-08-15). "UFC 252 Results: Merab Dvalishvili Blankets John Dodson to Decision". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  20. "Merab Dvalishvili MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog.
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