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.
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.”
CONFIRMED: Zuck is a BIG UFC guy #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/rFRHR5bxA2
— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2024
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.
TEN 👏 IN 👏 A 👏 ROW 👏@MerabDvalishvil notches another UD win! #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/eqISVxZ5YK
— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2024
Dvalishvili even took the time to talk to Mark Zuckerberg as he closed out the round with the choke.
Zuck 🤝 @MerabDvalishvil #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/TRmRUPrY5H
— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2024
