Merab Dvalishvili completely annihilated Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 after a rocky start in the first round. The Georgian fighter put on a beating on Cejudo, and that too, in style!
After getting rocked in the first round, Dvalishvili bounced back stronger in the later rounds, almost choking out the former two-division champion in the second round. The story was quite similar to Dvalishvili‘s performance against Marlon Moraes, where he also got rocked in the first round only to come back later dominantly and win the fight.
Merab Dvalishvili is now tied for the longest win streak in UFC bantamweight history with his 9th consecutive win!@MerabDvalishvil | #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/kk5lckrAss
— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2024
Once again, the stand-out was Dvalishvili’s cardio and grappling, which left no answers for Henry Cejudo, who looked clueless against the Georgian fighter.
Merab Dvalishvili talks to Mark Zuckerberg in the middle of the fight
During the closing moments of the second round, Merab Dvalishvili caught Henry Cejudo in a guillotine choke and looked to be busy laughing and talking to an excited Mark Zuckerberg during the entire sequence.
Needless to say, the entire incident brought the UFC fans to their feet. The Georgian fighter did something similar in the third round as well as he carried Cejudo on his back and walked towards where Zuckerberg was sitting to make a statement at UFC 298 and almost disrespect the former two-division champion.
This type of stuff is usually done by khabib and khamzat on unranked opponents and here’s Merab dvalishvili doing it to an Olympic champion and 2 division UFC champion 🤯#UFC298 pic.twitter.com/eExQdlF5Be
— Not_Required (@YeagerMMA) February 18, 2024
Regarding his conversation with Mark Zuckerberg, Merab Dvalishvili said during the post-fight Octagon interview.
“He just came to support. He was giving me some tips that’s why everyone was so beautiful.” Dvalishvili said.
Title shot next? 🏆
🇬🇪 @MerabDvalishvili has called for his shot at the gold! #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/60edej4MyN
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 18, 2024
The UFC bantamweight immediately called out the winner of Sean O’Malley vs Chito Vera, scheduled for next month at UFC 299. After a dominant performance like that against someone as formidable as Henry Cejudo, it certainly guarantees a title shot next.