Merab Dvalishvili is currently preparing for his second defense of the bantamweight title, scheduled to be a rematch against Sean O’Malley at UFC 316. However, it has now come to light that he nearly didn`t make it to his first defense back in January.
After securing the title with a dominant performance over O’Malley last September, Dvalishvili made a quick turnaround to compete at UFC 311, facing the highly regarded rising contender Umar Nurmagomedov. Even at peak condition, Dvalishvili would have faced a difficult challenge, especially considering Nurmagomedov’s strong grappling background, which was seen as his best chance to dethrone the champion from Georgia.
Despite being considered the underdog entering the fight, Dvalishvili pulled off one of the most significant wins of his career by defeating Nurmagomedov’s bid for the championship. What makes this victory even more impressive is that he achieved it while fighting significantly below 100 percent health.
“I think that Umar was going to be the toughest fight for Merab at the time,” Merab Dvalishvili’s head coach, John Wood, stated. “I think we’ll end up fighting him again some time and same thing, we beat them. They asked for the fight and [they came out] ‘Oh I’m injured, I’m this, I’m that.’ Well, Merab was half-dead for that fight.”
Wood elaborated on Dvalishvili`s condition: “You don’t understand, he had an open wound, he had a staph infection, he was on all kinds of antibiotics. I personally, if it was up to me honestly, and I haven’t really told anybody, I probably would have pulled him out of the fight. I honestly would have.”
This revelation places Dvalishvili’s performance under a much brighter spotlight, highlighting his ability to overcome adversity and eventually outwork Nurmagomedov, taking control in the later rounds.
While Dvalishvili’s legendary conditioning and capacity to push a relentless pace for 25 minutes have always been his key weapons, his coach was understandably concerned, especially given the champion was undergoing treatment for a staph infection.
Studies have shown that antibiotics can significantly hinder athletic performance, yet Wood admitted he was stunned by Dvalishvili’s sheer determination to push through and ensure the fight against Nurmagomedov went ahead on schedule.
“It was that bad but that dude that could barely walk but then he goes spar 10 rounds and looks phenomenal,” Wood recalled. “So I knew he could do it. So I knew that in the room, I was like we’re going to win this fight but in the back of my head, I was like Jesus, he’s so banged up.”
Even not being in optimal physical shape, Dvalishvili still delivered a vintage performance, earning a clear unanimous decision victory.
After the fight, Nurmagomedov spoke about his own injuries, specifically a severe broken hand he sustained early in the first round.
As much as Wood has sympathy for any fighter dealing with injuries, he finds it difficult to feel overly sympathetic for Nurmagomedov, particularly when aware of the significant difficulties Dvalishvili was facing in the lead-up to their bout.
“The fact that Umar’s like ‘Oh, I’ve got a busted hand.’ You guys asked for the fight,” Wood stated. “We wanted to fight later on. We said we’d fight you. You wanted to take time off for Ramadan. So they pushed for it and took the fight.”
Wood views such injury claims after the fact critically: “Then it’s ‘oh we’ve got this [injury], we’ve got that.’ Whatever, it’s the same thing. Everybody is always going to have those excuses.”
A similar situation arose after Dvalishvili defeated O’Malley for the title, with the outspoken former champion later revealing a hip injury that he said prevented him from doing much grappling during his training camp. O’Malley underwent surgery to repair the issue and has promised a significantly different performance when he faces Dvalishvili for the second time on June 7.
No matter the outcome, Wood guarantees that Merab Dvalishvili will never offer excuses for why he won or lost a fight, and he doesn’t expect this mindset to change after his upcoming rematch against O’Malley.
“I will tell you this, if Merab ever loses that belt, you will not hear excuses from him,” Wood asserted. “You will not hear ‘oh my leg was falling off, it was raining outside’ or whatever it is they come up with. Umar was a tough fight. There was no doubt in my mind Merab was going to win that fight. The way that Merab fights, what he brings to the table is just different. People do not understand it.”
Regarding the rematch with O`Malley, Wood finds it intriguing. He believes Sean and his coach Tim Welch now “know” and have “felt” the unique pressure Merab applies. Wood predicts that even if they have a good round or two early on, when Merab`s relentless pace begins to mirror their first encounter, it will be even more psychologically “defeating and deflating” for them this time.
Wood concluded that whether hurt, sick, or injured, Dvalishvili will never shy away from a fight. He believes that if the UFC permitted it, Merab would be the most active champion on the entire roster.
“He loves to fight,” Wood said emphatically. “He wants to fight three more times after this if he can. If he could fight every other month, he would.”
Marcus Blakely