Unbeatable! UFC Star Predicts Merab Dvalishvili Won’t Lose His Championship Belt Until Retirement

His last two fights were a title shot and a title defense against two of the best in the division. But Merab Dvalishvili made it look like he was fighting amateurs. The bantamweight champion rolled over Sean O’Malley first. Then he ensured that Umar Nurmagomedov was too tired to walk.

And he did it all in a span of just five months. This begs the question: Who can beat him? According to his friend and fellow UFC fighter Nazim ‘Black Wolf’ Sadykhov, nobody can. Not now, not in the future.

In fact, talking to Inside Fighting, Sadykhov made a stunning prediction: Merab will retire unbeaten as champion, never losing his title to another fighter.

“I think he’s going to retire undefeated, I think he’s going to retire without ever losing his belt to anybody. Because he’s beat everybody now, now it’s just onto rematches… Nobody can beat him,” said Sadykhov.

That’s a massive statement, but if anyone could pull off such dominance, it’s Merab. They don’t call him ‘The Machine’ for nothing. His insane cardio, relentless pressure, and suffocating wrestling style make him one of the hardest opponents to beat inside the octagon.

And then there’s the fact that he had already fought — and beaten — pretty much every top contender in the division,  even before he became the champion.

Merab had to be on a 10-fight win streak to even be spoken about in the title picture. So, by the time he got to the promised land, there was a trail of defeated opponents behind him.

Sadykhov, who has been by Merab’s side for years, has also seen firsthand the dedication that fuels the Georgian fighter’s success. He reminisced about how Merab used to work 10-hour shifts on a construction site before heading straight to the gym to train.

That level of grit and determination has now propelled him to the top of the UFC’s bantamweight division. And according to Sadykhov, that’s what will keep him there.

Of course, staying on top is never easy. The UFC’s bantamweight division is growing as we speak and there are talented fighters like Cory Sandhagen waiting in the ranks. But if his gas tank remains bottomless and his pressure stays as relentless as ever, Merab might just prove Sadykhov right.

Merab hasn’t always been welcome in the Hall of Champions. Despite his wins, he has always been touted as someone who went for too many takedowns without finishing his fights.

But with the prospect of him outliving every title run in history looking increasingly more real,  even fellow champions are trying to figure out what it is about his relentless cardio that fuels the machine.

Middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis, for instance, is one of those who is trying to decipher the Merab riddle.

Du Plessis motivated by Merab

The South African is as unorthodox as they come. He has a head like a brick wall and he can absorb punishment like no other champion in the promotion. He’s also unique in his style and stands out amongst his peers. So it’s no surprise that he sees Merab as another anomaly, an exception to the rule.

 Ahead of his UFC 312 fight against Sean Strickland, Du Plessis spoke about Merab in an interview with Aaron Bronsteter.

“Firstly that guy’s (Merab’s) cardio needs to be studied. I don’t know how he does it, it’s incredible to see, motivating in fact,” he said.

He even admitted that, despite priding himself on having one of the best gas tanks in the game, watching Merab fight made him question his own endurance. Well, how wouldn’t he? Even Joe Rogan, who has been watching the UFC since its inception, was in awe.

During Merab’s title defense, Rogan spoke about how, at the start of round 5, Umar was running on fumes while the champ looked like he had ‘just woke up from a nap’.

So whatever Merab’s endurance formula is,  it clearly works. Which brings us to our original question: Who is going to beat him at it?