Demetrious Johnson details how he would gameplan Merab Dvalishvili hypothetical fight

Cory Sandhagen might take a page out of Demetrious Johnson’s playbook as he prepares to fight Merab Dvalishvili.

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili makes a strong case for the toughest puzzle to solve in Mixed Martial Arts today. As evidenced in recent wins over Sean O’Malley and Umar Nurmagomedov, Dvalishvili has a complete game with a gas tank seldom seen inside the Octagon.

Dvalishvili returns to face surging contender Cory Sandhagen in the UFC 320 co-main event next month in Las Vegas. Amid Dvalishvili’s sky-high ascent, few are giving Sandhagen a chance at dethroning the UFC superstar.

But one of the greatest UFC fighters of all-time, Demetrious Johnson, believes he knows the tricks to dethrone the champ.

Demetrious Johnson shares detailed strategy to beat Merab Dvalishvili

During a recent appearance on The Simple Man Podcast, Johnson explained how he’d approach fighting Dvalishvili in a hypothetical bout during their primes.

“If I was to fight Merab, I would press him the whole entire time,” Johnson said of fighting Dvalishvili. “Force him to shoot and try to make him stand. When he shoots, make him pay for shooting, not try to out-grapple (him). When it comes to grappling, he likes to stay in guard. So push on the face, get a knee shield, and then when he tries to come in, go underneath him. It has to be a constant fight when you fight Merab.

“When you get into clinch, start throwing knees, elbows, punches. When he backs out of the clinch, right hand, body kick, high kick. It’s got to be a constant fight with Merab,” Johnson continued.

“You can’t allow him to dance outside the void and do his thing, and then he blasts a double, and once he blasts that double, you got to have a good enough ground game to keep those frames to keep him from burying on you.” (h/t MMA Junkie)

Johnson retired from MMA after anchoring the UFC flyweight division for years. Before moving down to flyweight, Johnson battled through an up-and-down tenure in the bantamweight division.

If Dvalishvili gets past Sandhagen, Petr Yan could potentially be his next opponent. Dvalishvili put on a record-setting performance against Yan in 2023, attempting a record 49 takedowns.