Merab Dvalishvili is not just the bantamweight GOAT of MMA in the eyes of many, but some think he can get the jump on the man many see as the overall MMA GOAT, pound for pound. Appearing on Bowks Talking Bouts prior to his recent Rizin flyweight grand prix bid, Jose Torres touched on some of his past training experiences with the Georgian standout. When responding to the talk from some that the UFC bantamweight champion is the greatest bantamweight in MMA history, Torres said,
"He's a great fighter, but he's not super tough on the ground until he becomes tough, if that makes any sense. Like when it comes to technique, that's where he lacks, but he pushes so much with his heart and just his conditioning that he will break you. Your best bet against Merab, and I guess even against myself and this is me saying this against Merab too, your best bet is to beat him in the first or second round. Because after the second half of the second round, that's it. There's no way you're going to be able to keep up the pace."
"Merab is; again, they call him 'The Machine', 'Robocop', all these different nicknames because his gas tank is relentless. He's not technically the best fighter, but because of how hard he pushes, especially with that fight style conditioning, that adrenaline that comes on fight day, all that stuff, it's no match. I think Umar Nurmagomedov easily is the better fighter, but the guy who obviously shows up on fight day in Merab is easily the champion, if that makes any sense."
Merab Dvalishvili's weaponized pace and how he could best Jon Jones
When getting more into the machinations of the machine that is Merab Dvalishvili, Torres continued,
"Technically, Sean O'Malley should have been able to win every fight against Merab, but Merab just doesn't stop. Again, that [Alexandre] Pantoja-style where they're kind of sloppy, they push forward. But Merab has that gas tank where you're just like dude, you're not gonna slow down at all? Like nothing whatsoever? ... He's that guy that just walks forward. He will beat any technical athlete... He could fight Jon Jones, he would beat him in the third or fifth, whatever final round of the fight. Like that's Merab's gas tank [laughs]."
