UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has been giving people hell in combat sports for a very long time.
Today, everyone knows Dvalisvhili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) as a non-stop force in the UFC’s octagon, who outworks and borderline toys with elite fighters on the biggest stages. But before coach Ray Longo got a hold of the Georgian to help guide his career to a UFC championship, Dvalishvili was a Golden Gloves boxer in the early 2010s.
“When Merab first came here, he got into a boxing gym,” Longo said on “The Anik & Florian Podcast.” “It was not a good gym, but they threw him into Golden Gloves because he wanted to fight. Because of that, the Golden Gloves changed the rules. They threw him out of the tournament, I think because he was such a mad hatter.”
The memory from Longo was jogged by the combination of a Facebook Memories suggestion and a discussion of his pupil Nazim Sadykhov’s stoppage of Ismael Bonfim at UFC Fight Night 251. Longo used Dvalishvili as an example of someone who always possessed that extra drive needed to realize his championship potential.
An article written by New York Daily News in 2013 captured a quote from Dvalisvhili after a 141-pound fight against Richard Maddox. Dvalishvili steamrolled his opponent to earn the Empire City Casino Punch of the Night award. He’s known as “The Machine” today, but back then Dvalishvili was dubbed “Tornado.”
“Not the prettiest guy, but he says in this thing, they go through this whole thing on him, but at the end it’s Merab saying, ‘I could throw 100 punches a round. I never worry about getting tired,'” Longo said.
“So like, if people want – like, again, I see that, and I go, If they think this is a new thing, this has been going on forever. This is before I knew him; he made that statement. So, that part of the game, that mental side or that cardio side, was always there. How crazy is that? From 12 or 14 years ago.”
In a 2013 bout against Daquan Henry, which is available to watch online, Dvalishvili terrorized as he never stopped coming forward. He was certainly raw and was bloodied from eating punches, but his relentless forward-pressure gave his opponent trouble en route to a decision win.
For what it’s worth, neither Maddox or Henry went on to have professional careers in combat sports. How much you want to credit Dvalishvili for that is up to you.
You can watch the full video of Dvalishvili vs. Henry in the video above.
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Coach Ray Longo recalls ‘mad hatter’ Merab Dvalishvili’s Golden Gloves boxing days
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