Henry Cejudo vs Merab Dvalishvili: Take It To The Mat

Many people know Henry Cejudo and Merab Dvalishvili for their time holding UFC titles, but it was the time they both put in on the mat that put them on the map and set them up for their future success. 

As he heads to Philadelphia for his RAF debut, Merab Dvalishvili brings his legendary gas tank with him. Nicknamed “The Machine,” Dvalishvili built a 21-5 record in MMA using an exhausting pace to bend opponents before breaking them with the most suffocating grappling imaginable.

Though he lacks high-level freestyle experience, his combination of sambo, grappling and judo expertise has made him a chain-wrestling nightmare his entire career.

For Henry Cejudo, this match represents the latest example of betting on himself. In 2008, he became an American hero when he passed up a chance at a collegiate wrestling career to train for the Olympics. That paid off tremendously, as he became a gold medalist in Beijing at just 21 years old. He parlayed that success into becoming a UFC superstar, becoming just the fourth fighter ever to win belts in two divisions. 

He’s almost positionally perfect and has deceptively fast entries. “The Messenger” hasn’t lost much of a step since his Olympic career and it showed in his RAF debut back in February, where he defeated Urijah Faber by a dominant 11-0 tech fall.

Dvalishvili may not have the wrestling accolades of Cejudo, but he does have the upper-hand in head-to-head competition. The fighters faced off two years ago in a bantamweight bout at UFC 298, with the Georgian having his way with the Olympic champion en route to a unanimous decision victory. In that fight, Dvalishvili controlled Cejudo while wrestling, the first fighter to ever use Cejudo's greatest strength against him, even securing multiple takedowns on the gold medalist.

That victory catapulted Dvalishvili to becoming the UFC bantamweight champion, as he earned it just seven months later at UFC 306. 

This time, though, he will need to showcase slightly different weaponry if he hopes to have his hand raised at RAF 08. His high-level cardio makes him a massive threat in the MMA cage, but how will that translate to the shorter rounds freestyle wrestling offers?

Will Cejudo's experience in freestyle wrestling and his highly technical skillset allow him to get his revenge on Dvalishvili and earn his second consecutive win in RAF action? 

You'll have to tune in to find out. 

Catch Merab Dvalishvili vs Henry Cejudo LIVE Saturday, April 18 at RAF 08 ONLY on Fox Nation!