Merab Dvalishvili already gets a lot of credit.
Prior to UFC 316, he was ranked No. 4 in the official pound-for-pound rankings, and he was heavily favored to defeat Sean O’Malley after entering as the underdog in their first fight 10 months ago. A lot of people recently came around to the idea that Dvalishvili’s win streak already entitles him to UFC Bantamweight G.O.A.T. status, ahead of the likes of Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw.
I’m here to tell you he’s both underrated AND still getting better.
Dvalishvili out-classed O’Malley last night (watch highlights). Based on all pre-fight chatter and preparation, he out-classed the best possible version of “Suga,” a man four years his junior with fewer miles on the tires. O’Malley genuinely hurt Dvalishvili last time around and won rounds, but this time he was thoroughly stymied from start-to-finish.
Merab barely broke a sweat.
Can we talk about how well “The Machine” was doing on the feet? His eyes have improved so much in the last year. He saw the majority of O’Malley’s offense coming, and he let a lot of it fall short. All the experts (including me) were calling for O’Malley to build off his body punches that worked well the first time, but Dvalishvili actually countered that straight to breadbasket with heavy combinations upstairs more than once! The wrestling threat obviously helped, but the bottom line here is that Merab managed to land the harder punches and heavier low kicks against perhaps the division’s best kickboxer.
How about Dvalishvili’s mat work?
He was more active with his ground strikes than in previous performances, putting a real effort into chipping away at O’Malley’s chin rather than just his gas tank. Increased offense combined with that usual relentlessness helped break O’Malley, opening up the third-round guillotine/north-south choke finish. Speaking of … “Suga” has never been submitted. He’s a legit grappler. Finishing him in such a fashion is a huge testament to Dvalishvili’s improvement!
Back to the idea that Dvalishvili is underrated: he’s on the second longest active winning streak behind only Islam Makhachev. Unlike Makhachev, however, he’s genuinely faced and dispatched the best his division has to offer. He’s not beating up Alexandre Pantoja on short-notice (Volkanovski), a contender a generation too late (Poirier), or a random Bantamweight that happens to be on the card (Moicano). I don’t hold Makhachev at fault for the bizarro circumstances of his title reign, but the Charles Oliveira alone remains his best Lightweight win by a country mile, and the rest suffer on close examination.
Conversely, Merab’s resume is iron clad. However you want to break up the generations, the names Marlon Moraes, Jose Aldo, Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, Umar Nurmagomedov and O’Malley represent the best of Bantamweight’s past, present and immediate future. Add in the fact that Dvalishvili was unarguably robbed in his debut and debatably robbed in his sophomore performance, and he could easily be on a 15-fight streak as well.
We’re watching a generational talent. Dvalishvili’s pace and cardio are as spectacular and unique as Anderson Silva’s timing or Georges St. Pierre’s transitions. He deserves to be seen on that tier of all-time excellence, and hopefully steamrolling O’Malley opens a few eyes.
“The Machine” has never run better.
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