“I fought with the Flu” | Merab’s first loss in the UFC #MMA #UFC

Merab Dvalishvili’s first UFC loss did not come in a normal fight week. He walked into his debut run in the promotion while battling illness, fighting his own body before he ever touched the canvas. In December 2017 at UFC Fight Night Swanson vs Ortega, he faced veteran Frankie Saenz and still pushed a relentless pace, mixing takedowns and pressure in a way that had many observers scoring the bout in his favor, even as the judges sided against him on a split decision. Instead of taking a step back, Merab charged forward into his next assignment against Ricky Simon in 2018, where controversy erupted at the final horn. After dominating long stretches with wrestling and activity, he was caught in a deep guillotine in the closing seconds, kicking his legs and appearing conscious as the clock expired, only for the referee and commission to rule a technical submission TKO when he could not immediately rise. Behind the scenes, he was dealing with flu like symptoms and the kind of exhaustion that would have broken a less stubborn fighter, but he refused to pull out or make excuses. That two fight skid, capped by a bizarre ending, left him on the brink of being cut. Instead, it became the fuel for one of the greatest turnarounds in bantamweight history, as he responded by launching a record setting win streak and eventually claiming UFC gold. Those nights taught him that even when his body betrays him and the sport seems unfair, his will to keep pushing is the one thing no opponent, illness, or scorecard can take away.