Merab Dvalishvili sparred five rounds on the day of UFC 320, says Khalil Rountree Jr

UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili sparred for five full rounds on the day of UFC 320, according to Khalil Rountree Jr.

Last weekend, Merab Dvalishvili defeated Cory Sandhagen and successfully defended the UFC bantamweight championship for the third time. Once again, he proved that his insane cardio is on a different level, and he even managed to show off some of his new striking abilities by dropping Sandhagen in the second round.

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Dvalishvili is known as ‘The Machine’ for a reason, but sometimes, it can be easy to forget just how much of a monster he really is. He can do things that very few mixed martial artists, if any, can do, and he can do it at the elite level.

In a recent podcast appearance, Khalil Rountree Jr revealed that Dvalishvili had a pretty intense day in the lead-up to his fight against Sandhagen at UFC 320.

Rountree Jr reveals Dvalishvili’s fight day routine

“I promise you this is a 100 percent true story,” the 205lb star told the JAXXON podcast.

“At 12 o’clock in the afternoon on fight day, Saturday, October 4th, Merab sparred five rounds in the cage. Live on the day of his fight, because that’s just who he is.

“Five full live rounds at 12 o’clock, not even half a day before he had to be in the arena to put on the biggest fight of his career. That’s just him. You cannot make it up.

“So, to be around that, it’s just another experience. Most guys will sit in the hotel room or try to collect their thoughts, or maybe even get a bike ride in on the assault bike to burn some energy.

“I’ve never in my life seen somebody spar five full rounds the day they have to fight and go another five full rounds with Cory Sandhagen. Yeah, he’s a different breed.”

Quotes via Bloody Elbow