The question was simple — just five words — but it offered more insight into Merab Dvalishvili than any stat or highlight reel could. “Who can stop ‘The Machine?’” someone asked near the end of his post-fight press conference.
Dvalishvili raised his eyebrows and took a deep breath.
“I guess myself,” he said about 90 minutes after submitting Sean O’Malley in the third round in the main event of UFC 316 to retain his bantamweight title.
It was his 13th straight win, his second successful title defense, and his list of victims is enough to prompt UFC CEO Dana White to call him the greatest bantamweight in company history.
Saturday’s submission was his second over O’Malley, the former champion who entered the bout ranked No. 1. He’s dominated both No. 2 Petr Yan and No. 3 Umar Nurmagomedov.
There’s no obvious contender to knock him off his perch. No. 4 Cory Sandhagen has the best shot by virtue of the fact that he’s almost certainly next in line.
You don’t reach this level without being both smart and shrewd. And given that MMA is arguably the most unpredictable sport in the world, no champion should ever get too comfortable.
And while Dvalishvili’s first instinct was likely correct — He’s his own biggest threat — he quickly pivoted. He understands that the line between winning and losing is thin, and the cheers of the crowd could be for someone else with just a small mistake or two.
“You know, this is sport and anything is possible,” he said. “It’s a fight, and when two guys are locked in a cage, one is going to lose.”
Dvalishvili is now an American citizen, but he came to the U.S. from Georgia — the country, not the state — on his own without speaking the language. That he made it to the top of his profession given the staggering odds against him is mind-boggling.
He grew up in poverty in Georgia and said at the news conference Saturday his family didn’t own a television or a refrigerator.
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Merab Dvalishvili celebrates his win over Sean O'Malley.
He dreamed in those days of representing his country in competition outside of it to make his countrymen proud.
The guy has made a lot out of a little.
He’s leveled up with each of his last five wins — Yan, Cejudo, O’Malley (twice), and Nurmagomedov — by refusing to be satisfied and pushing himself past human limits.
O’Malley went in for hip surgery less than three weeks after losing to Dvalishvili in September, which stole a bit of the luster from Dvalishvili’s crowning achievement at that point.
But on Saturday, O’Malley was in peak form and still was no match for ‘The Machine.’
White shrugged when asked what it would take to defeat Dvalishvili.
“We were just talking about that, and we don’t know,” White said. “Sean O’Malley came in here 100 percent healthy, ready mentally, physically, in every way you could be ready for a fight. And Merab finished him, so I don’t know.”
Dvalishvili’s actively improving, and his striking was noticeably better. O’Malley’s hands are regarded as among the best in the sport, and Dvalishvili knew that if O’Malley worked at defending the takedown, he’d need a reliable Plan B.
And so he drilled over and over on his striking. He cracked O’Malley with several sharp rights and never looked out of place on his feet.
The finish came via North-South choke, though Dvalishvili laughed and admitted he wasn’t sure if it was a choke or a neck crank, or even what it was called. Whatever it was, it was his first submission in eight years.
Being good, or even great, isn’t enough for him.
He’s known as ‘The Machine,’ because of his relentless work ethic. He was out running just days after winning the belt from O’Malley in September.
He so desperately wanted to succeed that he gave up a number of vices to put himself into the kind of condition that has his peers in awe of him.
"You know, some people say it's genetics, my cardio," Dvalishvili said. "No guys, I was getting tired. You know, I was young and I didn't know what to do. And sometimes, I was smoking stupid cigarettes or like, some weed. This is bad for your lungs and your cardio and your body's functions. God didn't create us like this. I made this function.
"We have to live healthier. ... I don't need any bullshit. It's all hard work.”
His reign will end one day, because they all do. It doesn’t take much to shift the balance of power.
But it’s going to take something special to knock him off.
He isn’t simply chasing greatness. He’s living it, mile by mile, choke by choke and fight by fight.
He’s now won 13 in a row and his thirst for knowledge is unquenched.
He’s the product of incredible desire, terrific coaching and one of the best work ethics any professional athlete has ever had.
Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images
Merab Dvalishvili reacts after submitting Sean O'Malley