The Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., exploded as two 135-pound wrestling powerhouses — Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo — stepped inside the Octagon tonight (Sat., Feb. 17, 2024) during UFC 298’s pay-per-view (PPV) main card.
Dvalishvili — riding a nine-fight win streak paved with fallen champions — should have a 135-pound title shot tattooed on his forehead. Blame it on loyalty — or Dana White’s opinion of his choices — but the gold remains elusive heretofore. However, with his former teammate, Aljamain Sterling, competing at Featherweight, “The Machine” seemingly just needed to prove his worth against another legend.
And it wasn’t going to be easy.
Cejudo — a former double champion — hears Father Time whispering. His shot at reclaiming the crown last year fell just short. At 37, “The Messenger” knew this fight would be his redemption arc.
However, after 15 minutes on non-stop, back-and-forth action, it was Dvalishvili who weathered a difficult first round to dominate the final 10 minutes en route to a unanimous decision win.
Cejudo with the early pressure, putting Merab on his backfoot, which is an uncommon sight. After about one minute of feeling out each other, Merab finally uncorked a looping right hand that caught nothing but wind. Cejudo then caught Merab with a nice shovel uppercut, staggering him momentarily, but “Triple C” didn’t really go after a finish ... just continued to bounce and look for another opening. But, before he could find it, Merab snagged a single-leg and tripped the former Olympian to the ground and then drilled him with a hard right hand as he bounced back to his feet. After another exchange, Cejudo was able to get Merab down to the mat with about 90 seconds remaining on the clock. Merab fought the wrist so he couldn’t really punch, so Cejudo went around back to try and control the wold Georgian from behind. Merab was able to get to his feet, though, and walk over to the fence, where he broke Cejudo’s grip and turned into him along the fence. Cejudo landed a nice knee to the body on the break, which is how the opening frame ended. Solid five minutes from the former champion.
Merab appeared to get a little pep talk between rounds, putting the pressure on Cejudo like he is known to do. Cejudo tried to keep him at distance with a low kick, and then when Merab angled for a takedown attempt, Cejudo stepped aside and nearly got behind him once again. One the restart, Merab landed a hard shot, which Cejudo paid back moments later. Then, Merab delivered a clean combination upstairs that Cejudo literally just ate without much of a reaction. Merab was starting to cook, securing another takedown in the center of the cage, with Cejudo crawling to the cage and getting back to his feet. Cejudo tried to turn, but Merab dumped him right back on the floor with a trip. Front kick from Merab as he once again broke free, with Cejudo now looking to make up some time. He shot in for a takedown, but Merab locked in a standing guillotine and hit Cejudo with a knee, forcing Cejudo to get down on both knees to avoid the shots. Merab locked in a seemingly tight choke with Cejudo on all fours, talking to Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg through the cage and laughing at the same time as the round came to a close. Strong round for Merab.
With 10 minutes in the can, it all came down to the third and final frame. Cejudo scored early with a short right hand, but Merab was on him like a dog on a bone. Cejudo’s forearm looked grotesquely disfigured and he tried to break Merab’s grip around his waste. Low kick from Cejudo on the break, but ate a hard left jab right after. Midway through the round and it was still pretty close, but Merab was certainly the busier fighter. He was able to get in once again on a single-leg. scooped up Cejudo, carried him across the cage and dumped him on his back. And that was all he needed to secure a massive victory ... and the next Bantamweight title shot.
Good luck, Sean O’Malley (or Marlon Vera). And, if it is indeed the last time we see Cejudo in the cage, thanks for the memories, champ.
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