Merab Dvalishvili is preparing for his second defense of the bantamweight title, facing Sean O’Malley in a rematch at UFC 316. However, his head coach, John Wood, recently revealed a shocking detail: Dvalishvili barely made it to his *first* title defense back in January.
Following a dominant performance to defeat O`Malley and claim the title last September, Dvalishvili made a quick turnaround to compete at UFC 311 against rising star Umar Nurmagomedov. Even at peak fitness, this presented a challenging matchup, as Nurmagomedov`s grappling pedigree was seen by many as the best threat to the Georgian champion.
Despite entering the bout as an underdog, Dvalishvili secured one of his most significant victories by thwarting Nurmagomedov`s title aspirations. Remarkably, he accomplished this while operating significantly below 100 percent health.
“I think that Umar was going to be the toughest fight for Merab at the time,” John Wood stated. “I believe we`ll face him again eventually, and the result will be the same – we`ll beat them. They asked for the fight and then started making excuses about injuries and other issues. Meanwhile, Merab was practically `half-dead` for that fight.”
Wood elaborated on Dvalishvili`s condition: “You don`t understand, he had an open wound, a staph infection, and was on strong antibiotics. Personally, if it had been my decision, and I haven`t really told anyone this, I would have likely withdrawn him from the fight. I honestly would have.”
This revelation casts Dvalishvili`s performance in an even brighter light, considering he found a way to eventually outwork Nurmagomedov and take control in the later rounds.
While Dvalishvili`s relentless pace and conditioning over 25 minutes have always been a cornerstone of his success, his coach was understandably concerned, especially with the champion battling a staph infection.
Studies indicate that antibiotics can severely impact athletic performance, yet Wood was astonished by Dvalishvili`s sheer determination to push forward and ensure the fight against Nurmagomedov went ahead as planned.
“It was that bad, he could barely walk,” Wood remarked. “But then he would go spar 10 rounds and look phenomenal. So I knew he was capable. In the gym, I felt confident we`d win, but privately, I was thinking, `Man, he`s so banged up.`”
Although not physically at his best, Dvalishvili delivered a vintage performance, earning a unanimous decision victory.
After the fight, Nurmagomedov disclosed his own injuries, specifically a severe broken hand sustained in the first round.
While Wood empathizes with fighters dealing with injuries, he finds it difficult to feel overly sympathetic towards Nurmagomedov, particularly knowing the severe health challenges Dvalishvili faced in the lead-up to their bout.
“The fact that Umar is saying `Oh, I`ve got a busted hand`… You guys requested the fight,” Wood stated. “We were prepared to fight later. We agreed to fight you. You wanted to take time off for Ramadan. So they pushed for it and accepted the fight.”
He added, “Then it`s `oh, I have this injury, I have that.` Whatever, it`s the typical scenario. Everyone will always find excuses.”
A similar situation occurred after Dvalishvili`s title win over O`Malley last September; the outspoken former champion (O`Malley) later revealed he had been dealing with a hip injury that restricted his grappling during training camp.
O`Malley underwent surgery to address the injury and has promised a significantly different performance when he faces Dvalishvili for the second time, scheduled for June 7.
Regardless of the outcome, Wood assures that Dvalishvili will never offer excuses for a win or a loss. He expects this philosophy to remain unchanged after the upcoming rematch against O`Malley.
“I can tell you this,” Wood asserted, “if Merab ever loses that belt, you won`t hear any excuses from him. You won`t hear `my leg was falling off` or `it was raining outside,` or whatever else people come up with. Umar was a tough opponent. But there was never any doubt in my mind Merab would win that fight. The way Merab fights, what he brings, is simply unique. People don`t fully understand it.”
“That`s why this next fight is intriguing,” he continued, “because Sean understands that now. Tim [Welch, O`Malley`s coach] knows it; they`ve experienced it. What will happen is they might have a good round or possibly two, but once the fight starts unfolding like the first one, it will be even more discouraging and deflating than before. That dynamic presents a unique challenge for us.”
Injured, sick, or bruised, Wood is confident Dvalishvili will never back down from a fight. If the UFC would allow it, he would be the most active champion on the entire roster.
“He loves to compete,” Wood concluded. “He wants to fight three more times this year if he can. If he were allowed to fight every other month, he absolutely would.”
