Merab Dvalishvili has won ten consecutive UFC fights to find himself as the number one contender in the bantamweight division.
In many of his signature wins over the likes of Henry Cejudo, José Aldo and Petr Yan, it has been his relentless cardio and grappling game that usually sees him dominate opponents.
Though the Georgian fighter has shown a willingness to test his striking skills rather than constantly chaining together his takedown attempts, he has been hurt several times whilst standing with other contenders.
While it is important for Dvalishvili to not be too one dimensional in his upcoming title fight with Sean O’Malley at UFC 306, his coach is also very aware that this is where they have the best chance of winning this fight.
John Wood Says It’s Important For Merab Dvalishvili To Use His Grappling Skill Set At UFC 306
O’Malley and Dvalishvili are far too accomplished as overall mixed martial arts to refer to this fight as entirely a striker vs grappler match-up, but it’s clear that they do their best work in the respective ranges.
This is something that was stressed by John Wood in a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, where he spoke about Dvalishvili’s preparations.
He isn’t going to be training his fighter to neglect his striking skills but at the same time, he knows that if they aren’t looking to use their grappling whenever they can, they’re making it an easier night for the champion on September 14.
“I never want to overlook what got Merab to the dance, what brought Merab into this title fight and we have to try to keep those things in check and not lose ourselves. ‘Oh we have to go learn traditional boxing, we have to learn striking, we have to do these things to compete with O’Malley,’ because that’s how we’re going to get knocked out. Merab is a crazy man we just have to make him a technical crazy man.”
