What makes Merab Dvalishvili a special fighter? Well, it’s his ability to use wrestling at will that comes to mind first. The Georgian has used his mat skills to dominate every opponent in his path. And they’re not just striking-based fighters like Sean O’Malley either. Even a seasoned wrestler like Petr Yan also had to kneel before ‘The Machine’s total domination, too. However, that still doesn’t fully capture the bantamweight king’s top skill. 

Because to channel that kind of wrestling volume, one needs an impeccable amount of strength. On top of that, maintaining the cardio to push that pace for five rounds becomes an even more grueling task. And according to Joe Rogan, only two fighters in the UFC are currently excelling at that. Reigning 135 lbs champion Merab Dvalishvili and top middleweight contender Anthony Hernandez. 

Joe Rogan names Merab Dvalishvili and Anthony Hernandez as the best cardio machines

During the JRE podcast episode #2384, with former two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, Mark Kerr, Rogan said, “But there’s guys like that, that have that f–ing insane cardio. I don’t know how much are you following the UFC, but there’s a kid, Anthony Hernandez, in the middleweight division, that’s nuts. And then you got Merab Dvalishvili, who’s like the best example of it. Unstoppable!”

The UFC color commentator definitely picked the best of the bunch. In the current middleweight division, Anthony Hernandez has become a real menace. ‘Fluffy’ built a reputation for having elite cardio paired with dangerous submission skills, something he showcased against Roman Dolidze in his last fight. And then there’s Merab, who’s brought back the art of going five rounds without gassing out, reminding everyone of the great former heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez. But is he really the cardio king?

To answer that, we can simply look back at ‘The Machine’s fight with Petr Yan in 2023. The Georgian attempted a record-breaking 49 takedowns, successfully landing 11 of them. And that alone should be enough evidence to crown him the true cardio king. Now, he’s set to defend his title for the third time this year when he takes on Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320. And once again, he’s looking forward to breaking another record.

‘The Machine’ wants to hit 100 takedowns at UFC 320

Recently, Merab Dvalishvili’s head coach, John Wood, revealed some significant changes in his training. The Syndicate MMA head believes ‘The Machine’ is going to be more strike-heavy against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320. But it seems the Georgian has other plans in mind—he’s focused on securing that 100-takedown milestone in his upcoming title fight.

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Merab said, “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. 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.”

Well, Merab has already scored 97 successful takedowns in his UFC career, passing Georges St-Pierre’s 90. So, hitting the 100 mark isn’t far-fetched at all. At UFC 320, ‘The Machine’ is almost guaranteed to shoot for more than three takedowns over five rounds. The only thing that could stop him from reaching that milestone is if Cory Sandhagen somehow stuffs every single one of them, which would be an insane feat in itself.

That said, do you think Merab Dvalishvili will hold on to his crown as both the cardio king and the bantamweight king at UFC 320? Or are we in for a major upset? Let us know in the comments below.