Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is well known for his perseverance in the octagon, and his coach John Wood revealed that this grit is exactly what earns the fighter his victories in the cage.
Dvalishvili recently defeated longtime rival Sean O’Malley to retain the belt at the UFC 316 main event. Dvalishvili, as usual, showed off his impressive grappling and BJJ skills in the earlier rounds of the fight and scored a third-round choke win over O’Malley. Although the win took some by surprise, coach John Wood revealed he sensed a change in O’Malley’s demeanor even before the fight hit the canvas.
“I do believe that knockout was an option,” Wood told MMA Fighting. “I don’t know if everybody noticed, but he was touching him pretty good and rocked him a couple of times. The goal again is to finish however we can finish—win the fight. The first goal is to win the fight. But the things that Merab does and the things that Merab brings to the table—and I caught a lot of shit the other day for saying—I truly believe we could have finished the last three fights. No problem.
“There are moments in all those fights where the person, the fighter, broke and they didn’t want to be there anymore. They do things—whether it’s subconsciously or they’re seeing it—where they don’t want to be there and they give options and opportunities to get out of there.”
Wood disclosed that there were some memorable moments, but the real highlight was when Dvalishvili got through O’Malley’s takedown defense and dropped him in the center of the cage. While Wood gives O’Malley credit for his skill improvements, he knows the devastating takedown from Dvalishvili took its toll.
“I think that was the start of it,” Wood said about the takedown leading to O’Malley’s demise. “I think even in round one, there was some success where I told Merab all camp, there’s going to be a moment real quick when he gets out there where he goes, ‘oh shit, this feels very oddly similar—but worse.’ I think that happened after the first round.
“But yes, when another man picks you up like a child and carries you and throws you down and does whatever—and it just seems like nothing you’re doing is working—there’s just no way to not feel a certain way. Merab’s just got Sean’s number. That happens sometimes in fights and styles.”
As impressive as that was, coach John Wood promises that Dvalishvili is just getting started when it comes to finishing opponents—and he expects O’Malley was just the first of many to experience that.
“Mark my words, this won’t be the first and only submission,” Wood said. “There will be knockouts. There will be TKOs. He’s still getting better. I think that Sean did better—Sean defended takedowns in the first one. Sean did things later in the rounds in the first fight, and as a coach, it’s my job to figure out what, in a rematch, they think they’re going to do better. And we have to change and adjust and change those strategies and change those timings—and it worked out perfectly.”
Dvalishvili’s recent victory has set the stage for bigger fights, and the champ is now set to face Cory Sandhagen. Sandhagen will be seen as the underdog, but he’s entering the octagon with momentum and wins under his belt.
In a recent interview, coach John Wood shared what he expects if Dvalishvili does in fact defend the strap against Sandhagen.
“Cory is a great fighter, and I enjoy watching him,” Wood told Submission Radio. “I think he’s a very entertaining fighter, and I think he’s got a lot of tools and a lot of things that are going to be tough to deal with. But I do not believe it’s going to be anything different than Merab has seen before. I think it’s stuff we are going to have just a fine time with, and it’ll be a fun fight. But I can tell you this—Merab’s going to come out ahead on that one.
“I feel like we’ve kind of fought that style before. He is a tough guy. He’s tricky. But like I said, I know Merab, and I know what he can do, and I know what we’re going to do. It’s always fun as a coach to game plan against a guy like that. He’s got a great team, great coaches, all that stuff, and it’s interesting. I think stylistically, it works out great for us.”
