Merab Dvalishvili kicks off UFC 252 main card with a win over John Dodson

Merab Dvalishvili kicks off UFC 252 main card with a win over John Dodson. The Machine has now extended his winning streak to five in a row.

Merab Dvalishvili last competed back in June 13. A little over a couple of months later, he is back inside the octagon and has racked up yet another a win. This time he shut down John Dodson with a unanimous victory after 3 rounds.

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Despite a dominant performance, the win was far from perfect. Dvalishvili made 20 takedown attempts. However, he was only able to convert 2 of them. The stat hardly mattered at the end of the day though as Dodson simply could not withstand the relentless pressure from Dvalishvili.

The Georgian bantamweight contender attempted 142 strikes compared to just 86 from Dodson!

Merab Dvalishvili kicks off UFC 252 main card with a win over John Dodson

Dvalishvili walked in the octagon ranked No. 15 in the bantamweight division while Dodson was No. 12. That hardly mattered though as it became clearer which of the two was more confident the longer the fight went.

The first round saw the two fighters feeling each other out without throwing anything significant. Dvalishvili caught Dodson a few times but failed to bring his opponent down. Regardless, Dodson barely had any offence in and it was clear who the round belonged to.

Dvalishvili continued to mount his offence in the 2^nd round. There were a few failed attempts at takedowns again but on the whole, the offense was still in his favour.

Dvalishvili continued to attack his opponent with strikes. While Dodson did get an inside leg kick and hard left hand in but Dvalishvili continued like a man possessed. His takedown attempts to results conversation remained consistent though.

Regardless, his good work with strikes and clinches saw him get the nod on the scorecards.

Merab Dvalishvili with the biggest win of his career to this point. That’s a guy not many people are going to want to fight in the bantamweight division. #UFC252

— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) August 16, 2020

Official result: Merab Dvalishvili def. John Dodson by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

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