After 175 days on the sidelines, Merab Dvalishvili finally returned to action with a Tech Fall win over Frankie Edgar that proved tougher than he would have expected.
The former bantamweight champion is known for his absurd activity, infamously taking on four challengers for his UFC belt last year. His pursuit of history ended up costing him his belt in a rematch with Petr Yan, and he decided to take some time off.
After Henry Cejudo pulled out of their planned rematch at RAF08 on the day due to an injury, his debut for RAF Wrestling was delayed. And he was given a tough test by the veteran of freestyle wrestling and former lightweight champion Edgar.
- BIG SHOUT: Arman Tsarukyan calls out Colby Covington after quick Tech Fall win over Mugzy
Merab Dvalishvili vs Frankie Edgar result
After making the walk as a heavy favorite, it took until the second stanza for Merab Dvalishvili to score a point on Frankie Edgar at all. The American was actually 1-0 by the first break, but ultimately succumbed to the tremendous pressure of the top bantamweight.
Once the Georgian had control, he scored some big takedowns and began to rack up the score. However, his broken nose was clearly irritated at one stage, and the match had to be briefly stopped due to blood on the mat.
Eventually, the match got back underway and Edgar made a big shot in looking to close the ever-increasing gap. Unfortunately, that was just what Dvalishvili needed in order to score the victory with another takedown to take a 12-1 Tech Fall with 26 seconds left on the clock.