Merab Dvalishvili is known today as a relentless force inside the Octagon. His pressure-heavy style and tireless pace have made him one of the UFC’s most feared bantamweights. But as Daniel Cormier recently found out, the Georgian champion’s appetite for danger started long before his fighting career!

In a recent post on Instagram, the former ‘champ-champ’ shared a snippet of his interview with ‘The Machine’ to promote his new venture, The Daniel Cormier Show’s launch on YouTube, and the stories that spilled out left Cormier wide-eyed and stunned.

Daniel Cormier stunned at Merab Dvalishvili almost drowning in a river as child

Cormier began by asking, “People know Merab the fighter. Relentless, pace, pressure. Most would say a bit crazy. But that’s not just limited to the Octagon. Merab, you’re crazy. I read up on you and I found out that when you were a kid, you about drowned in a river. You almost drowned in a river at six years old. And your brother had to save your life?”

Dvalishvili nodded. “Yeah, that’s true story,” he said, before describing how he leapt into a river where his brother was swimming despite not knowing how to swim himself. He continued, “The water take me to deep water. There was fast. The river just throw me and I was… I can’t scream, you know, I grab one of the big rock under the water… I was under the water and then my other brother saw me.”

Daniel Cormier could hardly believe it as he asked, “So you jumped in that river not knowing how to swim? Why would you do that?” Dvalishvili laughed at his own memory as he responded with, “Yeah, I don’t know. I was crazy. I was crazy. I did many, many, many crazy things”, but he did confirm that he learned how to swim after the close call!

And he wasn’t exaggerating about the “crazy” part, either. When pressed for another example, ‘The Machine’ recalled stepping barefoot onto nails his brother had tricked him into testing. “He put it like this (flat on the ground) and said, Merab, can you step on it? He was just joking. And then what I did, I jumped… I scream.” Cormier winced and asked, “What, did it cut you? It went in your foot?” Dvalishvili confirmed, “Of course… because I jumped. I was crazy.”

This mix of danger and daring has followed Merab Dvalishvili into adulthood. Fans have already seen the viral clips: his infamous head-first dive into a frozen lake that left him with staples in his skull, his attempt at Georgian dancing on a cliff edge that nearly ended in disaster, and even his balcony stunt in Italy that left viewers with sweaty palms. He once even tried to remove his own stitches with garden shears, a move that had UFC boss Dana White fuming.

This pattern of risk-taking perhaps explains why his fighting style is so relentless and why he seemingly completely lacks fear inside the cage. The same reckless streak that could have ended him as a boy fuels the engine that now drives his career. In fact, ahead of his UFC 320 title defense against Cory Sandhagen, ‘The Machine’ has set his sights on a new record inside the Octagon!

‘The Machine’ reveals plans to make history at UFC 320 against Cory Sandhagen

Merab Dvalishvili has never been shy about chasing milestones, and his next one could etch his name even deeper into UFC history. Heading into UFC 320, the reigning bantamweight champion is just three takedowns away from becoming the first fighter in company history to reach 100!

With 97 takedowns already secured inside the Octagon, Dvalishvili has long since passed Georges St-Pierre‘s legendary mark of 90. That record stood for years, a symbol of dominance, until ‘The Machine’ shattered it earlier this year. Now, the question is no longer if he can hit triple digits, but when.

Speaking to MMA Junkie, Dvalishvili recently confessed, “I think I will have this 100 takedowns after this fight, I’m not going to focus on that because I’m going to focus more on striking, but I think it will come naturally, you know? When I finished Sean O’Malley at the end of the third round, I was missing something. I wanted to do more takedowns, more fighting.”

The Georgian also knows a five-rounder gives him plenty of time to work, as he further shared, “Let’s see how our fight goes. If we fight five rounds, easy: I will get three takedowns – easy. I will hit the 100 takedowns. No problem.”

In fact, beyond the takedown record, a win would mark his third successful title defense in 2025, putting him in an elite group of just eight fighters to defend their belts three times in a single year! Now, as he stands on the brink of UFC history with Cory Sandhagen in his sights, the same fearlessness that once nearly cost Merab Dvalishvili his life could cement his legacy in the sport for years to come!