Merab Dvalishvili, who lost his last fight of a generation, competes in his fourth title fight of the year at UFC 323 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The 34-year-old won the UFC bantamweight championship in September 2024, defeating Sean O’Malley at UFC 306. A few months later, he defended his title against Umar Nurmagomedov in January, submitted to O’Malley in the summer rematch, and defeated Corey Sandhagen in five rounds in October. If he stopped there, he would have made a compelling case for Fighter of the Year honors. Instead, Dvalishvili returned for a fourth title fight against Peter Young and ended up in a clear defeat, with the Russian seemingly dominating nearly every minute of every round.
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John Wood, one of Dvalishvili’s coaches, told the Ariel Helwani Show on Monday that while “hindsight is 20-20,” Dvalishvili’s overall “crazy” schedule, workload and cumulative hours of preparation, training and sparring were undoubtedly “a lot.”
Still, he said, that burden is part of what separates champions from contenders. “When you pursue something great and legendary, these are the risks you have to take,” Wood said.
“It takes a lot of hard work to have four title fights in one year,” the Syndicate MMA founder added. “There are bumps and bruises everywhere. Everybody gets hurt in a fight of this magnitude.
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“On top of that, it puts a lot of stress on the body.”
before losing to Yan because of the quality of the opponents he defeated, the dominance of those performances and the unique style he brought to the Octagon. His high-pressure, bone-crushing speed, built on elite cardio, overwhelmed elite fighters. His consecutive knockdowns are not necessarily to secure a finish, but to force his opponent to continually make rhythm-breaking defensive responses. Dealing with the problem was exhausting, a direct reflection of Dvalishvili’s training ethos.
“He lived a battle,” Wood said. “He never takes a break. He’s still fighting in the cage and always giving it his all. Do I think that’s a lot? Of course, but if anyone can do that, it’s Merab.”
While Wood said he and Dvalishvili will spend the year carefully analyzing what works and what doesn’t, he doesn’t expect major adjustments in the Yan battle. “What Merab does is very unique,” Wood said. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I don’t know if [his approach to training] bankrupt [just yet]”.
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Some have questioned whether Dvalishvili’s extraordinary championship campaign contributed to his bantamweight defeat, but Wood believes the run was enough to justify an immediate trilogy fight with Yan.
Dvalishvili fought Yan for the first time in 2023 and won in five rounds. He has since won five straight in just 30 months and defeated a who’s who of elite competitors.
For Wood, Dvalishvili “absolutely” deserves to take his belt back immediately. “I think with the work he’s done in the UFC — the person he’s become as a member of the company and the things he’s willing to do, ask for things that most people don’t want to do — he’s earned that right,” Wood said.
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“Dana [White] Hunter spoke highly of him [Campbell] The same is true. He was giving orders from that position. “
One thing Wood will push for is a short break, even if he doubts it will happen. “I think he has the ability to train in a month but should take some time off,” he said. “Really, as long as you don’t fight in the next month or two, you’ll have enough rest time.”
But once Dvalishvili returned to camp, their shared mission was clear.
“I know Merab can come back stronger and perform better,” Wood said.
“I think a trilogy is going to happen…and it’s probably going to happen next.”
