Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t want to hear about anything else but a title shot after taking out Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 on Saturday.
In another performance built around his relentless pace and pressure, Dvalishvili wore out Cejudo round after round and put on a show as he played to the cameras while remaining in complete control until the final horn sounded. When it was over there was no doubt that Dvalishvili had notched his 10th consecutive win in a row with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor.
“I’m proud but I was working so hard,” Dvalishvili said afterwards. “All my life, I don’t get nothing easy. I work for it. Hard work always pays off. I’m not even breathing heavy. Everyday, I’m fighting in the gym. I wanted more rounds. Three rounds is nothing for me. Where is the champion? Bring him here right now!”
It was actually Cejudo who drew first blood with a stiff left hand that rattled Dvalishvili early in the opening round but the Georgian recovered quickly and reset in the center of the cage. Dvalishvili countered with a lightning quick takedown but Cejudo scrambled free to get back to his feet again.
A second shot from Dvalishvili came with a little too much energy and Cejudo reversed the move to land on top. Cejudo maintained control, although he couldn’t do much damage before Dvalishvili got back up again.
The constant aggression from Dvalishvili started to pay dividends in round two as he marched forward on Cejudo, launching boxing combinations and keeping the former two-division champion guessing on the feet. Cejudo also started to show signs of slowing down, which allowed Dvalishvili to get inside for a couple of takedowns on the Olympic gold medalist.
Cejudo attempted to slow things down with a takedown attempt of his own but Dvalishvili countered with a guillotine choke. As he tightened up the submission, Dvalisvhili was actually shouting at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sitting just a few feet away cheering him on.
With five minutes remaining, Dvalishvili continued to march forward until he finally got in deep on another takedown but this time he lifted Cejudo in the air, carried him across the cage and slammed him down to the canvas. Even when Cejudo got back to his feet, Dvalishvili just kept after him and would not give his opponent a second to breathe.
It was another signature performance from Dvalishvili and it’s going to be hard to deny him a shot at the title after another win like this.
“I’m ready,” Dvalishvili said when addressing Sean O’Malley sitting in the front row. “I’m ready for 10 rounds. Whoever will be champion, I’m going to face him next. I’ve been calling out Sean O’Malley since 2018. My only goal is title now.”