Henry Cejudo has typically touted himself as the best fight sports activities athlete of all time given his accolades as each a former UFC two-division champion and Olympic gold medalist wrestler, however he’s prepared to concede one title to Merab Dvalishvili.
Dvalishvili confirmed why his nickname is “The Machine” this previous Saturday evening at UFC 311 the place he outpointed beforehand undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov in an entertaining scrap to retain his bantamweight title at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
Whereas it was solely Dvalishvili’s first title protection, it was additionally his twelfth win in a row courting again to September 2018. That spectacular streak contains wins over Sean O’Malley, Petr Yan, Jose Aldo, Cejudo, and now Nurmagomedov, whom many thought-about his greatest risk.
When Cejudo considers the general resume, he’s snug reaching the conclusion that Dvalishvili is the best bantamweight of all time.
“Yan, O’Malley, Cejudo, Umar, Moraes, Aldo. I imply, he’s fought all people,” Cejudo stated on his “Pound for Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “He’s beat all people on this division, you could possibly say, of their prime. You simply can, man. Merab is the bantamweight GOAT – at the least in my eyes.
“He solely has one title protection, however the individuals who he has overwhelmed is nice. It’s an ideal top-five resume possibly in UFC, interval.”
Cejudo represented Dvalishvili’s tenth win in a row after they met in February 2024 at UFC 298. Dvalishvili outworked Cejudo together with his wrestling to say a unanimous choice that evening.
It’s broadly anticipated that Dvalishvili’s subsequent title battle can be a rematch with O’Malley, whom he dominated at Noche UFC final September to say the belt.
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