Merab Dvalishvili, the UFC bantamweight champion, is far from ordinary. He has phenomenal conditioning and seemingly endless stamina. This year, he broke the record for the most takedowns in UFC history, with a whopping 117, previously held by the legend Georges St-Pierre with 90.

Merab Dvalishvili: The Record Breaker

In his recent title fight, Dvalishvili took down Cory Sandhagen 20 times, making ‘The Sandman’s takedown defense appear more like that of a sand castle. This set the record for the most completed takedowns by a fighter in a UFC title fight, and it was only one takedown shy of equalling Khabib Nurmagomedov’s record for the most takedowns in any UFC fight ever.

Dvalishvili’s Unorthodox Training Methods

Many have wondered how Merab Dvalishvili can be this good. In a recent podcast with Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson, the Georgian revealed many of his unorthodox training methods, demonstrating the lengths he is willing to go to be the best.

Dvalishvili explained that to cut weight for each of his fights, he stops eating and drinking on Tuesday night before the weigh-in on Friday. He continues to train on Wednesday and Thursday, opting to sweat out the water weight through exercise, despite consuming nothing to fuel him on these days. He never relies on the sauna or hot tub to cut weight.

The Georgian explained that his mental fortitude gets him through this: “When I’m hungry and thirsty as I’m running [in order] to sweat, I want to cry, but I smile.” That kind of mental strength in a time of adversity truly demonstrates why he has earned the nickname ‘The Machine.’

Merab Dvalishvili also admitted that he barely stretches and doesn’t even warm up. At 34, he doesn’t want to waste any time and wants to train only fight-like scenarios, getting as many rounds in as possible.

However unorthodox his approach may be, it’s working. ‘The Machine’ holds the longest win streak in UFC bantamweight history with 13, already making a strong case to be the organization’s best bantamweight of all time. I look forward to seeing if he can extend this streak in his next fight.