Merab Dvalishvili attempted a record-setting 49 takedown attempts in his UFC Fight Night 221 bout against former champion Petr Yan. This record becomes all the more impressive when you see that the previous record by Cain Velasquez was 33 attempted takedowns in a single bout. The Georgian upped the count by a staggering 16! So it’s befitting that his moniker is ‘The Machine.’

Velasquez was dubbed ‘Cardio Cain’ for his exceptional cardiovascular capabilities. Dvalishvili is cut from the same cloth. The Papakha-sporting bantamweight is relentless in his pressure, and his last few bouts are a testament to the same. So today, we will take a closer look at his nickname ‘the Machine’ and see if its origins are rooted in the obvious.

Why is Merab Dvalishvili called ‘The Machine’?

While speaking to Block Asset, UFC Lightweight Matt Frevola who is ‘The Machine’s teammate, said that he saw the incredible tenacity and fierceness of the Georgian fighter while training. That is when he said that the bantamweight needed to have a name for the American fans.

In turn, Frevola came up with the name ‘The Machine’ because he is as unstoppable as a powerful machine. He said, “When it came to me I was like, The Machine. Merab The Machine. I planted that seed at the gym and I just started calling him, ‘You’re a machine Merab. Let’s go The Machine.’ “

Nevertheless, for a man named ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili has a lively nature and is a very outgoing person. In fact, the Georgian American is even known as the playful trickster in the UFC world. Dvalishvili has executed a lot of effort into his comic timing and act and made skits poking O’Malley over his love of his vibrant persona. Along with that, he depicted himself as a ladies’ man and gleefully immersed in Mexican culture in preparation for the Noche UFC theme of the pay-per-view event.

However his teammate has also previously admitted that the fighter who recently got his American citizenship, is pretty intimidating. He concluded that the Bantamweight never stops and just continues to clash and train even after he is exhausted, just like a machine.

Does Merab Dvalishvili live up to his nickname?

When we look at the Georgian fighter, he seems to be very calm. But he lives up to his nickname because he is a major threat in the bantamweight division. The moniker suits him pretty well because his records and stats are proof of his extreme tenacity. Right now he holds a professional fight record of 17 wins and 4 losses. He has a 10-fight winning streak along with 3 wins by knockout and 1 by submission. Their specialty lies in the fact that he started training in 2010 and dabbled in the traditional fighting styles of traditional quartile Chidaoba and Khridoli from his country while also practicing judo and sambo.

The black belt in judo prefers the high kick as one of his favorite weapons. Along with this, he has a striking accuracy of 42%, and 829 of his strikes have landed perfectly on the opponent out of 1995. Dvalishvili has noteworthy wins over fighters such as MMA legend Jose Aldo, Olympic Medalist Henry Cejudo, and the skillful Petr Yan.

Along with this, he has also showcased his intense stamina and output. His fight against Yan had earned him the record for the most number of takedowns attempted in the history of UFC. You will also be surprised that he holds the record for the total number of strikes landed (1,736) in UFC Bantamweight division history!

He has also landed a total of 79 takedowns in the UFC. This is a divisional highest record and #3 in the company’s records, only behind the legendary George St-Pierre (90) and Gleison Tibau (84).

So now it is pretty clear that ‘The Machine’ is the perfect moniker for the champ.  He will put his intense transformer-like power to use at UFC 306, Do you think he will win?