Merab Dvalishvili: who he is, how he fights, and what his pace means on the mat
The Georgian fighter who holds the UFC takedown record: where his grappling comes from, why opponents fade against him, what to watch in his third fight with Petr Yan, and what someone who trains three times a week can take from it.
Merab Dvalishvili was born in 1991, in Vani according to most biographies (his UFC profile says Tbilisi), and grew up in Tbilisi. At 21 he moved to the United States to fight professionally, and he has trained with Team Serra/Longo in New York ever since. In September 2024 he beat Sean O’Malley to become UFC bantamweight champion: the second Georgian UFC champion after Ilia Topuria, and the first born in Georgia. His record stands at 21 wins and 5 losses.
Where his grappling comes from
Before mixed martial arts, Merab grew up on ქართული ჭიდაობა, Georgian wrestling, along with khridoli, sambo and judo. The UFC lists him as a judo black belt, and several biographies describe him as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt under Matt Serra. In 2019 he won silver at the World Combat Sambo Championships at 68 kg.
That base shows in every fight. He goes for takedowns again and again, pins opponents against the fence, and flows straight into the next attack when the first one fails.
How he fights
Ask a grappling coach what makes Merab different and you’ll hear the same answer: his pressure and his cardio. He never stops.
The numbers back it up. He holds the UFC record for career takedowns, 119, and in his first fight with Petr Yan in 2023 he attempted 49, also a UFC record, landing 11. The low success rate doesn’t tell the whole story. Every attempt forces the opponent to defend, get up and rebuild his position, and that costs energy. By the late rounds the other man is tired, and Merab is still walking forward.
He usually wins on control and decisions rather than hunting submissions, but he can finish. At UFC 316 in June 2025 he defended his title by submitting Sean O’Malley with a ninja choke at 4:42 of the third round.
The third Petr Yan fight
Merab beat Petr Yan by unanimous decision in March 2023. At UFC 323 in December 2025, Yan won by unanimous decision and took the title. Cageside Press and CBS Sports both pointed to Yan’s much improved takedown defence: he broke a body lock, stayed upright on one leg, landed takedowns of his own and punished Merab’s entries with strikes. CBS also noted that Yan got stronger as the rounds went on, which almost nobody had done against Merab.
They meet for a third time at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on 24 October 2026, with Yan’s bantamweight title at stake. From a grappler’s point of view, three things are worth watching. Can Merab turn more of his entries into takedowns? Can Yan stay upright and keep punishing the entries? And who has more left in rounds four and five? We hope Merab has done his homework on what worked last time and what didn’t.
What someone who trains three times a week can take from it
If you train three times a week, your goals aren’t a UFC champion’s goals. You’re there to learn jiu-jitsu. So the advice is simple: don’t skip the warm-ups, and don’t skip any rounds, unless you’re hurt or ill. That’s how you get better, and that’s how you build cardio for jiu-jitsu.
If you have more time, add extra conditioning, such as running hills, and build it up gradually. Cardio matters.
Record, ranking and next fight checked on 14 October 2026 (UFC.com). Fight cards can change; this profile is updated after every fight.