The UFC bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili, completed 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 inside the T-Mobile Arena. Dvalishvili (21-4) defeated Sandhagen (18-5) by decision, in what 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 the unusual preparation.
According to Wood, the five rounds are slightly modified, as the fighters perform “around 70 percent.” Even so, it is an uncommon practice in the sport and, according to Wood, is intended to be “tough and technical.”“This is not new. It’s funny that Khalil is the one revealing it,” commented John Wood, head coach of Syndicate MMA. “Merab has been doing this since I started coaching 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
“I’ve had a lot of guys who want to get into a flow assault over the years, but this is different,” Wood said. “The way Merab does it, he’s a savage. He’s a total savage. I used to get nervous doing this on fight day, until I got to know it’s just part of his process.”
John WoodIn 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 more rounds with his teammate and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling just before going out.Dvalishvili is known for his relentless cardio. He secured 20 total takedowns in Saturday’s fight against Sandhagen, bringing 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,” Wood said. “Aljamain brings full headgear, 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 just beating him up in there. It’s pretty interesting.”
John Wood
