UFC 316 in Trouble as Merab Dvalishvili Suffers Same Injury Conor McGregor Faced in 2024

Merab Dvalishvili suffers a minor injury ahead of UFC 316, exactly similar to what Conor McGregor went through a year ago.

UFC 316 in Trouble as Merab Dvalishvili Suffers Same Injury Conor McGregor Faced in 2024

Merab Dvalishvili suffers same injury as Conor McGregor (Image via Bloody Elbow/X)

Even a small injury can derail an upcoming PPV event for the UFC. Look what happened in 2024 when Conor McGregor was supposed to make his grand return to the promotion. A pinky toe injury forced him to pull out, and he never returned. Fast-forward to now, the bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has picked up the exact same injury ahead of UFC 316.

To everyone worried about the potential pullout coming from the champion, it may not happen. Dvalishvili is known to power through injuries and compete on the fight day. After all in January of this year, he defended his title against Umar Nurmagomedov despite having staph infection, leg wound, and back problems.

Dangerous as ever, the bantamweight champion told the fans not to worry as he will even cut off the pinky toe to compete at UFC 316. Dvalishvili has done something risky last year ahead of Noche UFC title fight against Sean O’Malley. He opened the stitches that was put for a facial injury. It even drew the ire of UFC CEO Dana White at that time.

A pinky toe injury usually makes movement difficult. Once movement is difficult, it also makes weight-cutting difficult due to having to run intensely to reach the weight limit. Conor McGregor didn’t want to deal with the injury and fight in 2024. As such, he chose to withdraw, but ‘The Machine’ from Georgia is different.

So far, there is no reports of Dvalishvili looking to withdraw from the title fight in Newark, New Jersey. The title fight will go on as planned, with the champion looking to put the rivalry to rest with 2-0 stats against ‘Suga.’ Meanwhile, the challenger aims to dethrone the champion, and enact revenge for the humiliating he suffered at Noche UFC last year.

UFC double champion reveals what makes Merab Dvalishvili so effective

So far in the UFC, no one has yet to outclass Merab Dvalishvili in the last five years. Every fighter knows the takedown is coming. Yet, they always struggle to keep him away from them. Even Olympic gold medal winner Henry Cejudo struggled against ‘The Machine.’ Cejudo is among the greatest wrestlers to ever compete in the UFC. No one ever thought that someone would be able to easily outwrestle ‘Triple C’ in the UFC.

Merab Dvalishvili dominating his opponents
Merab Dvalishvili dominating his opponents (via X)

Last year at UFC 298, the Georgian fighter took on Cejudo in a three-round bantamweight bout. Over the course of three rounds, Dvalishvili showed his dominance, and even picked up Cejudo to slam him down. Recently, Cejudo spoke about the technique of the bantamweight champion on The JAXXON Podcast.

You got to give him [Merab] credit. Sometimes the troll gets trolled. He can’t necessarily finish you but he will f**king drown you… I knew Merab was really really good with his chain fighting. It’s not even how you wrestle, it’s how you chain. A chain is really putting the punches together, and the level change is coming rather than you just throwing a right hand and the level change. He is able to make it mix very well with fakes and feints.

Chain wrestling is less used in the UFC as it takes out a lot of stamina away from the aggressor. Only elite talents like Dvalishvili, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Cain Velasquez, and Daniel Cormier to name a few have used this technique to perfection. A fighter must require a gas tank as well as elite wrestling skills to find success with chain wrestling.

Once the chain sequence starts, the aggressor will attempt to takedown his opponent with all his might and cardio. As such, the opponent will need extraordinary defense and spatial awareness to counter the wrestler. This is what O’Malley will need to do at UFC 315 to avoid another loss.

Jack Della Maddalena showed how to keep a wrestler on his toes when he fought Belal Muhammad at UFC 315. JDM used head movements and footwork to avoid Muhammad from attempting to chain wrestle or go for a takedown. It remains to be seen if Dvalishvili can be kept on his feet by O’Malley at UFC 316 in two weeks time.

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