SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – AUGUST 19: Merab Dvalishvili plays their UFC 278 game during the festive scales on August 19, 2022, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Amy Kaplan/Icon Sportswire)
Merab Dvalishvili uses takedowns and pressure to take control of Jose Aldo and score a victory over the MMA legend at UFC 278.
In one of the most anticipated matches of UFC 278, Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili ended up being a big flop. But Dvalishvili’s speed and pressure were enough to earn him the decision victory.
Dvalishvili has now won eight times in a row and is guaranteed to be in the top five weight divisions in the UFC next week. But with his friendship with current champion and teammate Aljamin Sterling, he may not take home the championship title.
Merab Dvalishvili scores victory at UFC 278 over Jose Aldo in a lackluster rivalry battle
Dvalishvili started the fight by applying some pressure to Aldo, targeting Aldo’s body but failed to score on the first two takedown attempts. Aldo finally started throwing his kicks and ground strikes, but Dvalishvili didn’t hold back and fired back. A third takedown attempt for Dvalishvili was answered with Aldo’s left hook, with a knee in the body not too far away. The two threw wildly in the final seconds of the first after a fairly quiet run.
Dvalishvili pinned Aldo to the cage wall a split second early. Aldo threw a high kick and hook after the free break, but Dvalishvili pinned Aldo to the cage again – albeit with a failed fifth and sixth elimination attempt. Aldo moved away from the cage wall again but had to fend off another removal attempt. Aldo was never successfully removed in a second but he didn’t show any effective hit thanks to Dvalishvili’s efforts.
Aldo had some shots in the third round but continued to let Dvalishvili put pressure on him and drive the pace. Dvalishvili advances with two sets of groups in the middle of the round. By the end of the fight, Aldo had successfully stuffed 12 of Ldvalishvili’s 13 takedown attempts, but it wasn’t clear what Aldo would get for being so reactionary.
Two judges scored the match 29-28 in Dvalishvili’s favour, while the third scored 30-27 in his favour.
UFC 278: Camaro Usman vs. Leon Edwards takes place on Saturday, August 20, 2022, live from the Vivint Arena, in Salt Lake City, UT. Follow up with FanSided MMA, located on the site, for all the news and highlights.
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