Overview

• After teammate Khalil Rountree Jr. described the session on the JAXXON podcast, head coach John Wood confirmed to ESPN that Merab Dvalishvili sparred five rounds about nine hours before UFC 320.
• Wood said the gym rounds run at roughly 70% as “hard, technical” work and that Dvalishvili has followed this process since 2020, even asking to add a sixth round.
• The champion typically adds three to five more hard rounds in the locker room with Aljamain Sterling before his walkout, according to Wood.
• Dvalishvili defeated Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision at UFC 320, recording 20 takedowns to push his career total to a UFC-record 117.
• Following the victory, he asked the UFC for a December title defense and called for a rematch with Petr Yan, who signaled interest, with no bout announced.