I’m sad. I love Merab Dvalishvili almost as much as Christmas. He’s one of my favourite fighters ever. Well, he just lost his fight against Petr Yan, who I don’t like. This happened to be Merab’s FOURTH title defence this year. For those who are unfamiliar with the UFC, that is insane.
This is a very difficult sport to love, let me tell you. When your favourite fighter wins, it can feel like you won the lottery. It can feel like everything is finally right in the world. You have a bounce in your step for the rest of the week. But when your favourite fighter loses, it can have the exact opposite effect on you. I really detest this sport when that happens. Merab has lost (and in an undeniable fashion) and now I want to jump off a damn cliff.
Merab is a great guy, beyond just being a great fighter. He’s a good man with an inspiring work ethic. Just before this latest fight, it seemed as if everyone was asking each other how it could be possible for him to lose to anyone. This is why one should never get too confident. But Merab’s game was just too refined. It really did seem like someone needed to come into the Octagon with a shotgun if they wanted to get that belt from him.
But man, he got brutalized. Yan picked him apart on Saturday. I’m thoroughly pissed about it. I hope to see him hold the belt again someday.