Merab Dvalishvili has defined himself as the best bantamweight in the sport and it’s going to be awfully hard for anybody to slow him down.
That’s according to UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, who praised Dvalishvili on his podcast recently while detailing how the Georgian born fighter pushes a pace that’s just unmatched in the sport. While he’s developed into a very well rounded fighter from his roots as a wrestler, Rogan says Dvalishvili’s ability to never slow down whatsoever during a 25 minute fight gives him an advantage over almost any opponent he could potentially face in the UFC.
“That guy is insane,” Rogan said. “He’s insane. His cardio is something that everyone who has been involved in the sport for as long as I have, is blown away by it. That guy’s a freak. Daniel Cormier went to visit him after he won the title. He won the title Saturday night at the Sphere in Vegas, beat Sean O’Malley, dominant five-round decision, just steam rolled him. The next day, Daniel Cormier goes to visit him and he’s out running. He doesn’t stop. Doesn’t stop.
“Just this guy from Georgia, from this war-torn country who just embraces that f*cking grind at a level that nobody else can compete with. When he gets in the ring, no one can match his cardio. No one can match his pace. He melts the greatest of the greats.”
Rogan pointed specifically at Dvalishvili’s win back in January when he handed Umar Nurmagomedov the first defeat of his career after entering the fight as the betting underdog. Despite Nurmagomedov winning a couple early rounds, Dvalishvili just kept coming after him and eventually ran roughshod over the Russian fighter to earn a unanimous decision victory.
“You see guys like Umar Nurmagomedov, who’s elite — he’s world class — like at any other time, he’d be a world champion and Merab is just overwhelming him,” Rogan said. “You see him just getting overwhelmed by the pace and Merab doesn’t even get tired. He’s a freak.”
Perhaps the scariest part about Dvalisvhili is that he’s constantly getting better and Rogan doesn’t really see a ceiling for him.
He also knows plenty of other people around the sport are paying attention, especially when it comes to Dvalishvili’s ability to push a relentless pace that just wears his opponents down round after round until there’s nothing left in the tank.
“You can see the evolution of his technique so a lot of it is [learned] in America,” Rogan said. “It’s just his mindset and his drive. Firas Zahabi did a whole video about him saying he needs to be studied in a lab. Firas Zahabi, who runs Tri-Star in Montreal, is like one of the greatest gyms of all time and he’s one of the best minds ever in the history of MMA and he’s blown away by this guy.
“There’s guys that are on EPO like the cyclists take, it makes you have more blood cells and it makes you have more cardio but you can have a f*cking stroke, it’s like super dangerous to take. Tour De France guys get busted for that kind of shit. Some fighters get busted. He’s like guys that I know that have been on EPO don’t have that kind of cardio. This is crazy cardio. This is something freakish.”
Rogan says as much as it might seem like some of Dvalishvili’s ability comes from good genetics, the reigning bantamweight champion believes otherwise.
It really comes down to hard work and dedication and Rogan doesn’t know if there’s anybody in the sport more committed to success right now than Dvalishvili.
“[Firas Zahabi] thinks some of it’s genetic but Merab says it’s not,” Rogan said. “He’s a freak and he keeps getting better with his technique. He gets better with everything. That drive is not just for his cardio. That drive is for his whole skillset. So he’s a f*cking monster.”
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