Dvalishvili: Extreme Sparring Before the Fight, Reveals His Coach

Merab Dvalishvili: The Champion Who Spars on Fight Day

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili surprised everyone by completing five full rounds of sparring at the gym last weekend in Las Vegas. This training occurred approximately nine hours before his title defense against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320, held at the T-Mobile Arena. Dvalishvili (21-4) secured a dominant decision victory on Saturday against Sandhagen (18-5). Surprisingly, this was his second five-round fight on the same day. During an interview on the Jaxxon Podcast, Khalil Rountree Jr., Dvalishvili’s teammate at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, revealed this unusual preparation method. John Wood, head coach of Syndicate MMA, confirmed this information.

“This isn’t new. It’s funny that Khalil is the one who revealed it,” Wood said. “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, Head Coach of Syndicate MMA

According to Wood, these five rounds are performed at a pace of “approximately 70 percent.” Despite being an uncommon practice in the sport, Wood explains that they are “tough and technical fights.”

“I’ve had many guys who want to have a fluency assault over the years, but this is different,” Wood added. “The way Merab does it, he’s a savage. He’s a real savage. I used to get nervous doing this on fight day, until I realized it’s part of his process.”

John Wood, Head Coach of Syndicate MMA

In addition to the five rounds in the gym, Dvalishvili also does a good warm-up in the area before the fight. The 34-year-old Georgian fighter usually does between three and five additional 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,” Wood explained. “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 on multiple occasions where I feel bad for Aljo, because Merab is beating him up in there. It’s pretty interesting.” Dvalishvili is known for his relentless endurance. In his 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.