UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili surprised everyone by completing five full rounds of sparring at the gym last weekend in Las Vegas, just hours before his title defense against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 at the T-Mobile Arena. Dvalishvili (21-4) achieved a dominant decision victory on Saturday, in what was apparently his second five-round fight of the day. During an appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast, UFC light heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr., Dvalishvili’s teammate at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, revealed the champion’s unusual preparation.
According to Wood, the five rounds are performed at a modified pace, approximately 70% intensity. Despite this, it is an uncommon practice in the sport and is designed to be, in Wood’s words, “hard and technical fights”. In addition to the five rounds in the gym, Dvalishvili does an extra warm-up in the locker room before the fight. The 34-year-old Georgian fighter usually does between three and five more rounds with his teammate and former bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, just before entering the octagon.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 spar six, and I had to stop him.
John Wood, head coach of Syndicate MMA
Dvalishvili is known for his relentless physical condition. In the fight against Sandhagen, he achieved 20 takedowns, raising his career total to 117, the most in UFC history. He has already requested that the UFC schedule his next title defense in December.The craziest thing is the five rounds right before he fights. Aljamain brings a full helmet, and it’s a full-on sparring match 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 just beating him up back there. It’s pretty interesting.
John Wood, head coach of Syndicate MMA
