UFC 298 witnessed some of the best fights of this year and one such fight was Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili. ‘The Machine’ clinched the biggest win of his career when he defeated Cejudo via unanimous decision. Dvalishvili displayed dominance in the Octagon, toying with Cejudo to the point where it seemed he could have finished the match.
However, an unexpected moment involving Mark Zuckerberg prevented ‘The Machine’ from sealing the deal. Dvalishvili in his latest escapade explained why he didn’t finish Cejudo earlier and took the fight to the very last round.
Merab Dvalishvili exposes his relationship with Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg
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‘The Machine’ has asserted his dominance at the bantamweight division with a 10-fight winning streak. No one in the division is as complete as him as a fighter, and his recent fight with the Olympic champion and former dual weight champion, Henry Cejudo proved why he is the rising star in the division. Dvalishvili in a recent conversation emphasized that he could have finished the match earlier but stopped as he wanted Mark Zuckerberg.
Explaining his relationship with Zuckerberg, Dvalishvili said “Me and Zuckerberg, we’ve been following each other on Instagram and supporting each other. He sent me some positive energy and texted me a couple of days before, saying he’ll be at the fights. He told me not to tell anybody, and I agreed.”
Dvalishvili revealed that he could have finished the match earlier in the third round but he kept going because of Zuckerberg: “In the second round, as soon as I shot, I realized I could lift him. I just wanted to hold and enjoy the moment. During some transition, I grabbed his neck, and the choke was tight. There were only a couple of seconds left, and I asked him (Mark Zuckerberg), “Should I finish or not?” But with just a few seconds remaining, I decided to hold him, make him tire, and he was laughing.”
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Zuckerberg is no stranger to the MMA scene. He has a good relationship with Alexander Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya, and ‘The Machine’ is only Zuckerberg’s new addition to his MMA friends. Down in the conversation, Merab Dvalishvili explained more about his relationship with the Meta CEO.
Dvalishvili would corner Zuckerberg in any fights
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There were looming rumors that Zuckerberg would clash with Elon Musk in a one-on-one MMA fight last year but to everyone’s disappointment, none of the CEOs came forward for the challenge. However, Zuckerberg continued his MMA training. Dvalishvili further emphasized that he would corner the Meta CEO even if he fights his coach.
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“He was giving me some tips. But you know, over there when I was fighting, it’s like good music. Like when you’re really running and you hear good music. I don’t remember exactly now when I look, but at the time it was nice, he was coaching me. Yeah, absolutely. I will be in his corner even if he fights my coach.” said Dvalishvili.
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Regardless, Dvalishvili’s victory at UFC 298 made him the number one contender for the coveted bantamweight title and he might face the winner Sean O’Malley vs. Chito Vera soon. Do you believe Dvalishvili has a chance to be the bantamweight champion? Tell us about your opinion in the comments below.