IN FEBRUARY 2021, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili made one of many dumbest choices of his life throughout one of many greatest snowstorms to hit Lengthy Island, New York, in a decade. His coach, Ray Longo, advised your entire Serra-Lengthy Battle Group that the health club was closed for 2 days. Keep dwelling. With coaching canceled, Dvalishvili went on a run round a close-by park. When he’d completed, he determined to have himself a pleasant little ice tub, proper there within the lake.
“I do not wish to examine the temperature of a shower earlier than I get in, as a result of it is so chilly and it makes it tougher [to get in],” Dvalishvili tells ESPN. “I knew the water wasn’t deep, so I did not suppose I might leap in feetfirst. I wished to leap in at an angle, such as you do in shallow water. I did not understand the water was frozen.”
He went for it, pushing off the financial institution with each ft, fingers outstretched. The ice broke, however not and not using a complete lot of resistance. Dvalishvili immediately stood up, put his fingers on his head and started repeating, “F—, I’m so silly. I’m so silly. F—.”
Dvalishvili went straight to the emergency room, the place a reduce on the suitable facet of his head was closed with staples. For the longest time, hair would not develop from the scar web site. However after present process a hair transplant two years later, he seems to be good as new.”
Diving headfirst into that lake is admittedly one of many dumbest issues Dvalishvili has ever completed. One of many smartest issues he has ever completed is publish a video of your entire factor to the web. It went viral and gained him tens of hundreds of followers in a single day.
“I did not even keep in mind I would filmed it at first,” Dvalishvili says. “Once I was strolling dwelling, I stated, ‘Oh s—, I used to be filming.’ I watched it and I laughed at myself. I stated, ‘I will publish it. Some individuals will name me silly, however that is me, that is actuality.'”
In talking with these closest to him, in addition to Dvalishvili himself, each a part of this story — leaping right into a frozen lake, filming himself doing it and laughing about it afterward — is basic Merab. The 34-year-old champion is a “lovable fool,” within the phrases of 1 good friend. He’s obsessed together with his cellphone and commonly movies every part he does. Whatever the state of affairs, he’s Act First, Assume Second, Publish to Social Media Third.
Dvalishvili (19-4) is scheduled to defend his 135-pound title in a rematch towards Sean O’Malley (18-2) at UFC 316 on Saturday in New Jersey (10 p.m. ET on ESPN PPV, with prelims at 8 on ESPN/ESPN+/Disney+ and early prelims at 6 p.m. on ESPN+/Disney+). Though Dvalishvili took the belt from O’Malley of their first struggle in October, O’Malley stays the larger star of the 2. That is unlikely to vary within the close to future, however Dvalishvili’s humor, honesty and quirkiness are slowly beginning to win over the MMA group.
Forward of this weekend’s rematch, ESPN spoke to Dvalishvili’s associates, teammates and members of the family to uncover beforehand unheard tales that illustrate this basic Merab character. The outcomes don’t disappoint.
Rising up with Merab: ‘[He] did not know what worry was’
Unsurprisingly, Dvalishvili has had a near-death expertise. Really, he has had a couple of.
When he was 6, he almost drowned in a river whereas he and his two older brothers had been climbing of their native nation of Georgia.
“Merab did not know what worry was,” Dvalishvili’s eldest brother, Misha, advised ESPN. “Whilst a baby, he was impulsive, assured and liked to take dangers. We had been on a visit to the mountains and he dove straight into an icy mountain river, and it carried him away straight away. Our different brother, Malkhaz, instantly acknowledged the hazard and pulled him out. Had he been even a minute late, he won’t have saved him.”
Dvalishvili’s eyes nonetheless widen when that story is advised — in a way verifying how critical the implications might have been.
“They had been saying the river was harmful and I used to be like, ‘Ah, I do not give a s—,'” Dvalishvili says. “There have been some deeper areas the place you possibly can swim, however within the extra shallow areas, it is quicker and the river stole me.” However even within the face of risk, Misha stated his youthful brother by no means panicked.
“From that day on, he continued to swim freely and fearlessly within the icy rivers of the mountains,” Misha stated. “He hadn’t felt at risk in any respect. To him, it was pure: chilly water, a robust present and the fun of motion. The place others noticed hazard, Merab noticed freedom.”
That is smart when you think about that a number of of Dvalishvili’s most viral clips have concerned water. Along with the frozen lake debacle, he dove off a cliff and tried to swim towards the present whereas vacationing in Jamaica together with his associates and teammates Aljamain Sterling and Al Iaquinta two summers in the past. Eight months later, he posted a clip of himself swimming underwater the size of a Las Vegas pool, holding his breath for a full 30 seconds within the course of.
IT DIDN’T TAKE lengthy for Dvalishvili’s brothers to comprehend they could not even mess around with him when it comes to issuing dangerous challenges. He’d settle for a dare on the spot.
“We lived within the village after we had been children, and we had horses there,” Malkhaz stated. “In the future, I went to the market and introduced again horseshoe nails. Once I acquired dwelling, Merab was taking part in within the yard. I left the nails close to the doorway and jokingly stated, ‘Let’s examine how arduous you possibly can leap on these nails, Merab!’ after which I stepped away to seize one thing.
“Merab took me severely. He ran and jumped proper onto the nails. One in all them pierced his foot and he was bleeding. I used to be terrified, however Merab was laughing and even stated, ‘Don’t be concerned! Did I scare you?'”
IN 1999, WHEN Dvalishvili was 9, his household moved to Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. They had been dwelling in a basement house, and Malkhaz was known as upon to save lots of his youngest brother’s life — for a second time earlier than the age of 10.
“Merab had been taking part in outdoors with the opposite children, and as he was working again into the home, he touched some uncovered electrical wires,” stated Dvalishvili’s father, Amiran. “The present struck him and he froze, clinging to the steel railing, unable to talk. Malkhaz kicked Merab with all of his energy to interrupt the electrical contact. If Malkhaz had been even a couple of seconds later, it might have been tragic. Merab’s palms had been badly burned. It was a terrifying second that I’ll always remember.”
Dvalishvili smiles and shrugs when he hears tales like this rehashed. He can not help who he’s. “My oldest brother is wise, you realize?” he says. “My second brother could be very sort, spiritual and simply desires to present all people love; [he’s] peaceable. I take dangers. Finally, I believe I will get married and have children after which I’ll simply be, uh, extra good. Cease doing loopy s—.”
Working with Merab: ‘I do file every part’
A number of weeks earlier than his first title struggle towards O’Malley at UFC 306 in September, Dvalishvili suffered a nasty reduce over his left eye in follow. Any type of reduce throughout camp can put a fighter at an obstacle. The worst ones can threaten to cancel a struggle totally, so they’re sometimes handled with intense secrecy by a fighter and his camp. Dvalishvili posted his reduce, which required stitches, to social media.
UFC CEO Dana White known as Dvalishvili’s resolution to publish in regards to the reduce “next-level silly.” “Our guys cannot f—ing wait to throw it up on social media [when something happens in camp],” White stated. One week later, Dvalishvili posted a video of himself eradicating his stitches — with a pair of hand scissors.
“You ever see the scissors they take stitches out with?” White stated. “This man had f—ing bush shears you employ to trim your f—ing bushes … I believe he is simply f—ing with me now.”
Longo, who turned Dvalishvili’s head coach in 2012 and now shares that position with Las Vegas-based Syndicate MMA coach John Wooden, stated Dvalishvili has all the time been that method with filming and posting to social media. Identical because the risk-taking, he can not help it.
“He is loopy with the digital camera and he is been like that from day one,” Longo advised ESPN. “He is all the time filming every part. When he took out the stitches with these big scissors, I advised him, ‘You may’t be pissing Dana White off like this.’ And he simply stated, ‘Ray, that is nothing.’
“Each time we take a group image within the health club, I simply shoot the image, you realize? He is acquired to verify the angle is correct, the lighting is sweet. He is meticulous with the images. It is nonstop. A whole lot of guys, that will be annoying, however he is acquired a lot pleasure doing it.”
DURING THE TRIP to Jamaica with Sterling, Dvalishvili acquired right into a near-altercation with a tour information and the native police over a accusation of nonpayment. On the peak of the battle, Sterling rotated and could not consider what he noticed.
“This man from the [tour] group got here again to us with a machete and every part. It was fairly intense — after which Merab began filming all of it,” Sterling advised ESPN. “He is filming himself yelling on the man and placing his digital camera within the man’s face, and I am like, ‘Brother, please do not try this. We get shot by these guys proper now, no one is ever seeing that movie.'”
Actively sharing his life on social media is not the worst factor for Dvalishvili, whose revenue does rely, partially, on rising his on-line fan base. However largely, Dvalishvili says he enjoys making content material, whether or not it is taking down a “600-pound gorilla” within the health club, carrying a pillow formed like O’Malley’s face in a child service or standing method too near the sting of each cliff, ledge and balcony he is ever been on.
“Usually, I do file every part,” he says. “To start with, I wasn’t posting to anybody as a result of I simply wished to reserve it or it wasn’t fascinating, however as individuals see now, I like modifying movies to make them humorous or fascinating. I do not thoughts making enjoyable of myself, and if I see one thing fascinating, I do not solely need to maintain it to myself. I wish to throw it on the market if it is constructive vitality or one thing we will all be taught from.”
Dwelling with Merab: ‘He has all the time stood up for the reality’
A little bit over a yr in the past, Dvalishvili was scheduled to nook his teammate and fellow Georgian Aleko Sagliani towards Ahmad Hassanzada in a neighborhood MMA present in Las Vegas. The stakes had been excessive, as a result of the winner was anticipated to get an invite to struggle on “Dana White’s Contender Sequence.”
The struggle performed out on the Sahara Las Vegas, and Dvalishvili’s teammate got here up brief. Sagliani and Hassanzada went to the again to endure routine postfight medical analysis, and members of every group ended up in one thing of a holding space close by. The buildup to the bout had been tense and every group was somewhat giant. Dvalishvili congratulated the members of the opposite group and requested them to be respectful and never have a good time an excessive amount of till everybody had gone their separate methods. As an alternative, the prefight stress boiled over when the 2 teams began to shuttle.
“Individuals begin swinging on one another, and me and my different coaches are like, ‘Are we breaking this up or getting concerned?'” stated Wooden. “We mainly ended up doing somewhat little bit of each. There have been about 20 individuals concerned. I did not even know who was who.
“Merab was in medicals with Aleko this complete time, and issues had been about to chill down — however then out of nowhere from behind the scenes, I see Merab simply leap the rope and are available sprinting in to deal with and begin open-hand slapping this man. After that, all hell broke free.”
There have been a number of incidents caught on movie by which Dvalishvili confronted UFC followers he perceived as disrespectful — to him or, particularly, to his teammates. A month earlier than his first assembly with O’Malley final yr, Dvalishvili was filmed leaping over a barricade to confront a heckler. He then needed to be separated from an individual within the entrance row of UFC 310 after Sterling misplaced a call to Movsar Evloev three months later.
One of many tougher chapters of Dvalishvili’s profession got here when Sterling was champion of the boys’s bantamweight division. The UFC expressed curiosity in having the 2 associates struggle one another, and Dvalishvili refused to even entertain the thought. He stands by his ideas and ignores the potential of penalties when they’re challenged. So, when Dvalishvili felt that Hassanzada’s group was disrespecting his teammate after a loss, he did not hesitate to behave.
“One in all my associates was begging them to simply relax and provides us respect, and so they had been happening and on,” Dvalishvili says. “Once I got here out and nonetheless heard that, I used to be like, ‘Get the f— out of right here.’ As soon as my teammates noticed me, all people was going. Even John Wooden was strolling round like a robotic together with his fingers up, searching for somebody to punch.”
EVEN AS A CHILD, Dvalishvili’s household stated he by no means stood for disrespecting others, particularly on the subject of kicking somebody after they’re down. He was the youngest of three, however by no means turned to his older brothers for assist in a battle. His mom, Darejan, can recall an occasion when he was 3, that he was taking part in with a small ax, chopping wooden within the entrance yard, and took after an older youngster who was bullying his brother — ax nonetheless in hand.
That intolerance for intimidation adopted Dvalishvili to town.
“He has all the time stood up for the reality,” Malkhaz stated. “In Tbilisi, he typically needed to struggle within the streets over injustice or bullying. There was a time I noticed him tackle three boys without delay. He was all the time impartial in that. He by no means got here to us, the older brothers, to get entangled in that. And after they advised him they wished to struggle his older brothers, that made him angrier.”
DESPITE BEING SOMEONE who would, and did, nonchalantly throw himself right into a frozen lake, Dvalishvili holds a deep sense of duty. When one thing is entrusted to him, he takes that very severely.
When he was 6, Dvalishvili’s household was invited to a birthday celebration in his village, and his mom determined to bake a cake. She had each ingredient she required, aside from a stick of butter.
The closest market to Dvalishvili’s dwelling was 7 miles away, and the remainder of his members of the family had been busy that morning. His mom handed him cash and gave him primary directions for find out how to deliver again a stick of butter.
“They advised me, ‘Merab, you are an enormous man, you are able to do this,'” Dvalishvili says. “They stated all I needed to do was go to the transportation middle, await the bus after which do not get off till it makes its final cease. They stated, ‘Purchase the butter after which return to the bus cease and simply do the very same factor. Do not go nowhere else.'”
The primary half of Dvalishvili’s journey went effectively. He made it to the market and bought the butter, simply as he had been advised.
“He adopted the directions exactly,” Darejan stated. “However for some purpose, he did not put it in a bag. He simply held the stick of butter in his fingers, and it was a scorching summer season day.”
Dvalishvili had taken the duty — and directions — so severely, he didn’t add the additional step of placing the butter in a bag. He was decided to do as he’d been advised, and nobody had stated something about any bag. He sat at that bus cease 7 miles from his dwelling and agonizingly watched the butter soften between his fingers.
“I wished to cry so dangerous, however I additionally wished to be robust and, you realize, not hand over on my mission,” Dvalishvili says. “I wished to be an enormous man, like they’d stated. As soon as I did make it to my bus cease, although, I ran dwelling and instantly began crying.”
Darejan holds so many reminiscences of every of her sons near her coronary heart, however that day with the butter has all the time stood out. It is one of many household’s favourite tales to inform.
Dvalishvili turned the unofficial grocery shopper of the family and made many extra journeys to the market after that, as a result of despite the fact that the primary mission did not go as deliberate, everybody knew he’d by no means let it occur once more.
“That second with the butter has all the time stayed with me, seeing a baby take duty for one thing so severely,” Darejan stated. “It would appear to be a small factor, however for me, seeing Merab standing there with melted butter and tears in his eyes stated greater than phrases ever might. I hugged him and we each laughed rather a lot.”
As humorous because it sounds, these tales about Dvalishvili tie in completely with the present story of his championship run. He has been underappreciated at instances — and he has completed some undeniably dumb stuff alongside the way in which — however in his personal Merab method, he is leaving his mark.
