Coach Ray Longo explains how UFC ‘created a monster’ in Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Dvalishvili has been on a tear, and Ray Longo believes the UFC played a significant role.

Dvalishvili is the reigning UFC bantamweight champion. He’s fresh off his first successful title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311. The 135-pound titleholder displayed his elite conditioning and grappling to outlast the challenger after five rounds of action.

Longo coached Dvalishvili for several years and he believes the UFC brass lit a fire under the Georgian stalwart.

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Ray Longo Says UFC Matchmakers Fueled Merab Dvalishvili

Ray Longo made an appearance on SiriusXM Fight Nation’s “MMA Today.” On the show, Longo explained why he feels the UFC’s matchmaking decisions with Merab Dvalishvili turned his fighter into a “monster.”

“First off, he’s still getting better,” Longo said. “Merab was always a work in progress. Even any time he lost before he got to the UFC, he always made the corrections. His two losses, which I didn’t think were losses, he made corrections in those fights. He just kept getting better and better.

“You know, I said it the other day, what they did to him to get to the title, putting a who’s who in front of him to beat, I think they just created a monster. His confidence just kept getting better and better, everything. We had to walk through fire to get to that title and it’s that thing, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I think he’s a perfect example of that ’cause he put five to six guys in front of him that I’m sure they thought were gonna beat him and they didn’t, and this is what you see.”

Dvalishvili went on a 10-fight winning streak before receiving his first UFC title opportunity. In that span, he defeated the likes of Henry Cejudo, Jose Aldo, and Petr Yan. Dvalishvili made the most of his first crack at gold, defeating Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision in their title clash back in September 2024.

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