Dvalishvili: Extreme Sparring Before the Fight, Coach Savage Reveals

Merab Dvalishvili: A Champion with an Unusual Routine

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili surprised everyone by completing five full rounds of sparring at the gym last weekend in Las Vegas, approximately nine hours before his title defense against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320. Dvalishvili, with a record of 21-4, defeated Sandhagen (18-5) by unanimous decision in a dominant fight. The surprising thing is that this was apparently his second five-round fight that day. During an appearance on the Jaxxon podcast, UFC light heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr., Dvalishvili’s teammate at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, revealed this unusual practice. Syndicate MMA’s head coach, John Wood, confirmed the information.

This isn’t new, it’s curious that Khalil is the one revealing it. Merab has been doing this since I started training him [in 2020]. Every fight day, he comes in and spars for five rounds. He wanted to do six, and I had to stop him.

John Wood

According to Wood, the five rounds are performed at a pace of “approximately 70 percent.” Even so, it is an uncommon practice in the sport, but according to Wood, these are “hard and technical rounds.”

I’ve had many guys who want to get into a fluency round over the years, but this is different. The way Merab does it, he’s a savage. He’s a real savage. It made me nervous to do this on fight day, until I realized it’s part of his process.

John Wood

In addition to the five rounds in the gym, Dvalishvili also does a good warm-up in the arena before the fight. The 34-year-old Georgian usually does between three and five rounds with his teammate and former bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, just before entering the octagon.

The craziest thing is the five rounds right before the fight. Aljamain brings a full helmet, and it’s a complete workout in the locker room. Obviously, Aljo isn’t there to hurt him, and it’s gotten to a point several times where I feel bad for Aljo, because Merab is hitting him there. It’s pretty interesting.

John Wood

Dvalishvili is known for his relentless endurance. In his fight against Sandhagen, he achieved 20 takedowns, which raised his career total to 117, the most in UFC history. He has already requested that the UFC schedule his next title defense in December.