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Brett Okamoto
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili sparred five full rounds in the gym last weekend in Las Vegas, approximately nine hours before his title defense against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 inside T-Mobile Arena.
Dvalishvili (21-4) defeated Sandhagen (18-5) in a relatively dominant decision Saturday in what was apparently his second five-round bout that day. During an appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast, UFC light heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr., who is Dvalishvili’s teammate at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, said the three-time defending champion sparred five rounds hours before heading to the arena. Syndicate MMA head coach John Wood confirmed the claim to ESPN.
“This isn’t new. It’s funny that Khalil is the one getting it out there,” Wood told ESPN. “Merab has done this ever since I started training him [in 2020]. Every fight day, he goes in and spars for five rounds. He wanted to spar six, and I had to stop him.”
According to Wood, the five rounds are at least slightly modified in that the fighters go “about 70 percent.” It’s still an uncommon practice in the sport and meant to be, in Wood’s words, “hard, technical go’s.”
“I’ve had a lot of guys who want to get in a flow round over the years, but this is different,” Wood said. “The way Merab does it, he’s a savage. He’s a straight savage. It used to make me nervous as s— doing this on fight day, until I got to know it’s just part of his process.”
In addition to five rounds at the gym, Dvalishvili also gets a good warmup at the arena prior to the fight. The 34-year-old Georgian usually goes between another three to five rounds with longtime teammate and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling right before walking out.
“The crazier thing is the five rounds right before he fights,” Wood said. “Aljamain brings full head gear, and it’s a full go in the locker room. Obviously, Aljo isn’t there to hurt him, and it’s reached a point multiple times where I feel bad for Aljo, because Merab is just beating him up back there. It’s quite interesting.”
Dvalishvili is known for his relentless cardio. He secured 20 total takedowns in Saturday’s fight against Sandhagen, which raised his career total to 117 — the most in UFC history. He has already requested the UFC book his next title defense in December.