With UFC Las Vegas just behind us, fans are still buzzing about the stacked card that the UFC delivered on Saturday night. The no. 3 ranked bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili came through with a decisive victory over the former champion Petr Yan in the main event. Heavyweight Alexander Volkov did quick work of Alexandr Romanov via TKO in the very first round of the co-main event.
Prior to this fight, fans were picking ‘The Machine’ to win in almost the same fashion he did tonight, which was using his wrestling-heavy tactics against one of the best strikers in the UFC. Coming into this fight, Merab was an underdog, and ‘No Mercy’ came in as a favorite. Going by his last bout against Jose Aldo, fans knew he would have a wrestling-offensive strategy coming into this fight.
The two shared the Octagon for 25 minutes straight and most of the fight was Merab smothering Yan with his takedown attempts, never giving the Russian a chance to display his combinations or power shots. It is worth mentioning that Petr was able to stuff most of Merab’s takedowns, he would go on to fail in that department as well, occasionally.
Merab not only had a barrage of takedown attempts to offer, but he also appeared to have an answer for everything Yan threw at him. When Yan would seem successful with leg kicks, Dvalishvili would respond with his own leg kicks. Having Aljamain Sterling in his corner, the Georgian was bound to receive elite wrestling advice in between the rounds.
Merab Dvalishvili receives harsh criticism despite a dominant victory
With the fight now over, Merab has not only secured a win over a former champion but, has also set a new record for the most takedown attempts in a UFC fight with 49. The previous record was 33. Despite this achievement, fans seem to have more criticism than praise for the Georgian native. Fans took to Twitter to express a bad taste that Merab seems to have left in their mouths.
Watching a guy spam takedowns and miss on 95% of them isn’t entertaining, my heart goes out for Yan, he doesnt deserve this.
— EV (@EliasVillaaaaaa) March 12, 2023
Give some credit to Yan for breaking the takedowns defended record
— Boogerbeard (@Boogerbeard1) March 12, 2023
Give some credit to Yan for breaking the takedowns defended record
— Boogerbeard (@Boogerbeard1) March 12, 2023
Worst fighter in UFC history
— Better Call Saulo (@ArmericanG) March 12, 2023
Imagine if the dude could throw with an ounce of power
— king casual (@SRSLYCASUAL1) March 12, 2023
The statement: "i will shoot for take downs but i cannot go for subs so i will shoot again"
— ☆ (@Sszreformed) March 12, 2023
The amount of failed takedown between these two is sickening pic.twitter.com/Q6ANcsf09Y
— Han Solo burger (@Uranusislosse) March 12, 2023
Worthless crotch sniffer
— The Fourth Horseman (@arnoldtm31) March 12, 2023
What did you think of Merab’s performance? Did he do what he should have to secure a victory over a really good striker in Yan? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
