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Merab Dvalishvili added another serious accomplishment on his ever-growing resume with a unanimous decision win over former champion Henry Cejudo on the main card of UFC 298 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Cejudo struck first with a nice left hook that landed flush to Dvalishvili’s chin in the first round. He recovered and made some headway with his wrestling, but Moreno wound up in top position and found himself down early in the fight.
The tables turned in the second round. Dvalishvili was the one who landed a notable punch, landing an impressive right hand as part of a combination before taking down Cejudo. To cap it off he ended the round with a guillotine choke attempt that appeared to be deep.
Dvalishvili even took the time to talk to Mark Zuckerberg as he closed out the round with the choke.
The Machine went ahead and added another signature moment in the third round, carrying Cejudo across the cage and dumping him to the mat in the final round.
The win is the latest in a 10-fight win streak for the 33-year-old that’s making it harder and harder to deny him a title shot.
In lead-up to his fight with the former flyweight star, Dvalisvhili was vocal about putting up with anymore matchups that don’t involve him competing for gold.
“After this, that’s it,” Dvalishvili said, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. “Title fight is next. I’m not going to look at any other bulls— fights. I’m just going to take what is mine. I deserve it.”
It’s hard to deny that he’s earned the right to be that selective with his next fight. Dvalishvili ha put together an impressive resume for a fighter who has yet to fight for a title. His win streak now includes Cejudo, Jose Aldo, Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan.
While Dvalishvili took a huge step toward his goal, this might mark the end of the road for Henry Cejudo.
The 37-year-old was open about this being his final fight if he came up short.
“This is all or nothing,” Cejudo said, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN. “It’s either gold or bust. I either win it all, or I’m out, I’m done. So I’m putting that timeline on me, because I take this sport seriously…what do I have to prove?”
Cejudo announced his retirement in 2020 but returned to fight Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight belt and lost to the Funkmaster in a split decision.
He might have come up short this time around, but the 37-year-old’s legacy as an all-timer in the sport is secured.
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