"Mom playing with her son" - When Merab Dvalishvili getting dominated by a 6’4 female four-time kickboxing champion in sparring prompted fan reactions

UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili once took on a female kickboxer who stood ten inches taller than him in a sparring session.

Belarusian kickboxer Katarina Kavaleva stands six feet and four inches tall compared to Dvalishvili's smaller frame at five feet and six inches. The two engaged in a friendly sparring session that saw Kavaleva defend a takedown by expertly reversing it and lifting up Dvalishvili.

Check out their sparring session below:

The relative ease with which Kavaleva's raised up Dvalishvili prompted reactions from fans that likened the physical difference between them to a mother-child relationship:

"Mom playing with her son"

Other fans had alternative theories and also dissected Kavaleva's technique:

"He let her pick him up lmao he didn’t wanna hurt her let’s be honest"

"If it had been a real mma match or street fight, Merab would have sent her to the hospital."

"Her leg control is ridiculous that over the top kick cleared like it was nothing and she made it look effortless"

Check out the fans comments about the sparring session in the screenshots below:

Fans react to Merab Dvalishvili sparring with Katarina Kavaleva.

---

Merab Dvalishvili believes Henry Cejudo has to beat him at UFC 298 or "he's done"

Henry Cejudo speculated about his future in mixed martial arts if he failed to win against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 and hinted at a final retirement.

In his media day appearance, Dvalishvili agreed with Cejudo's comments and added to it by referencing his matchup against Jose Aldo at UFC 278 in 2022.

Aldo lost via unanimous decision to 'The Machine' and retired a month later with a fight still remaining on his contract. Dvalishvili predicted that the same would happen with Cejudo after UFC 298. He said:

“He knows he has to beat me, otherwise, he’s done. He’s fighting to beat me and he wants the belt. Same thing when I fought Jose Aldo. He was on a three-fight win streak when he beat ‘Chito’ Vera and other contenders. If he beat me, he was supposed to fight for the title. But I beat him, and he didn’t want to go back down to the ladder and climb again. It’s the same thing again. Jose Aldo after me retired, and I think it’s the same thing for Henry.”

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's full comments below (3:16):