At UFC 298 in Anheim, California this past Saturday, Merab Dvalishvili demonstrated his readiness to challenge for the Ultimate bantamweight championship. The Georgian fighter dominated former two-division champion and Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo over three rounds.
Despite controlling Dvalishvili for much of the first round, Cejudo was unable to stop “Machine’s” momentum, as the European maintained a strong pace through the final two rounds and outperformed the Olympic champion. Furthermore, Dvalishvili interacted with Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, who observed the fight from the audience.
In the end, Merab won by unanimous decision at UFC 298 and reaffirmed his intention to fight for the title in his next bout. The fighter also called out reigning champion Sean O’Malley, who was seated in the first row. Since returning from retirement, Cejudo has yet to secure a victory and may again remove himself from competition.
Merab Dvalishvili is a MONSTER! #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/pzegPEKkIb
— Haduucken (@ContentFight) February 18, 2024
CONFIRMED: Zuck is a BIG UFC guy #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/rFRHR5bxA2
— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2024
