Mareb Dvalishvili may not be a name that is being considered for a title shot against Cejudo right now, with names Like Petr Yan and Jose Aldo in the mix Henry Cejudo has plenty to keep him busy. However Dvalishvili is someone who I think is somewhat flying under the radar and is worth keeping an eye on.
Lately Dvalishvili just keeps winning
A few weeks ago the cardio machine from Georgia scored his third consecutive UFC win. Dvalishvili looked very sharp and even at altitude in New Mexico was able to push an electric pace that his opponent just could not keep up with.
Most of his wins have come by way of decision, so you would be forgiven for thinking that he is not really someone to watch. While Dvalishvili may not be finishing people all over the division, he is looking more and more impressive each time we see him out there just with the pace that he can push.
He has some really great MMA wrestling in that he mixes his strikes and his shots very nicely and is very effective. He just does not seem to slow down, he is as strong in the third round as he is in the first, when he eventually makes his way up to 5 round bouts that skill set will surely work in his favour.
Dvalishvili has got a few losses on his record, which I actually think is a good thing, as I mention in another article here if anything it takes some of the pressure off. Out of those 4 loses 3 of those were by way of decision, being on the wrong end of the judges from time to time will happen to most athletes in this sport.
Dvalishvili’s only stoppage loss was a farce
The only fight where Dvalishvili conceded a finish was against Ricky Simone. Now I thought at the time that it was a little bit controversial, Dvalishvili was dominating that entire fight right up until he got caught in a guillotine choke.
Now the choke was in, there is no doubt about that, however Simone was squeezing with all he had and Dvalishvili was just not tapping out, pumping his legs and was clearly still conscious.
To me Dvalishvili looked like he was still conscious as the buzzer went at the end of the round, he seemed to lose consciousness as the referee broke them up, in my mind he had survived and since he had clearly won rounds 1 and 2 was the winner of the fight.
When they announced that in fact Simone was the winner by TKO I found that puzzling.
Dvalishvilis’s legs were moving and he was giving thumbs up to the referee right up until the buzzer where the referee broke them up for the end of the round. He was conscious while the round was active; he only seemed to lose consciousness for a second as the referee broke them up, after the buzzer, not before.
If he didn’t tap out and was conscious during the active round, I don’t see how that can go down as a submission or TKO as they called it. Either way it doesn’t matter I suppose, the books will still show submission loss, which I think, is a shame because he won that fight.
Possible fights to make next
Despite the losses I think Davlishvili has really shown a lot of improvement to his already impressive skill set. I am very much looking forward to whom they match this man up with. Whoever it is I think it needs to be a ranked opponent at this point to really see how his skill set compares with the best in the division.
Possibly even a match up with the Magician John Dodson after all they both last fought and won on the same card in New Mexico. That should be the fight to make, Dvalishvili needs a ranked opponent and Dodson is currently sitting at 12 in the rankings so for both fighters it is an ideal match up at this point.
Dodson is looking for a way back to title contention and getting a win over an up and coming prospect could really help.
Davlishvili is looking to prove he belongs in the rankings at Bantamweight and Dodson is a fighter who has been ranked for a while, even getting to title contention. Stylistically both of these guys push a great pace and it should be a fun match up, lets hope they make it happen.
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