MMA analyst makes eye-opening remarks about Merab Dvalishvili's "biggest strength" after Umar Nurmagomedov win: "It's not his cardio"

The UFC 311 co-main event was the Merab Dvalishvili show. Many have chalked up his success to his bottomless gas tank. However, an ex-MMA fighter-turned-analyst believes that 'The Machine' is superior to his divisional rivals for a different reason.

On MMA Today with fellow former fighter Alan Jouban, Din Thomas analyzed 'The Dvalishvili's win over Umar Nurmagomedov. Towards the end, Nurmagomedov was gasping for air, while his Georgian counterpart remained tireless. Thomas, though, feels that the bantamweight champion's lack of discomfort is his true strength.

"I attribute a lot of Merab's success to his—which is a skill in itself, it's an underappreciated skill in itself—and that is his ability to stay comfortable at all times. Nothing makes him uncomfortable, like missing a shot? 'I don't care.' Losing two rounds in the beginning? 'I don't care.'"

While Dvalishvili's cardio certainly helps him remain comfortable in the later rounds once his opponent starts wilting, Thomas believes that the Georgian star's mentality and focus are more important.

"Like, nothing makes him panic and he still keeps the same pace. Nothing breaks him. That is a remarkable skill, and I think that's his biggest strength, it's not his cardio. I think his ability to just stay focused on task and remain comfortable while he's doing is his greatest asset."

Check out Din Thomas praising Merab Dvalishvili:

UFC 311 marked Dvalishvili's first-ever title defense, yet he appears to have almost cleared out the bantamweight division due to the number of top contenders he fought prior to becoming champion. Sean O'Malley recently lost to him, while Petr Yan was dominated by him in their contest.

Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov was just handed his first-ever professional loss by 'The Machine'. Henry Cejudo is another fighter who was defeated by Dvalishvili. Those who haven't lost to him are ranked too low to be a conceivable title threat, like Marlon Vera, Rob Font, and Song Yadong.

Others, like Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo, suffered recent losses to fighters that Dvalishvili had already beaten.

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Merab Dvalishvili is being hailed as the greatest-ever bantamweight

While Dominick Cruz and Merab Dvalishvili's teammate and friend Aljamain Sterling have claims to being the greatest bantamweight ever, many are now praising 'The Machine' as such following UFC 311. His résumé speaks for itself, especially compared to both Cruz and Sterling's.

The Georgian has beaten Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O'Malley, Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, José Aldo, and Marlon Moraes. It's a much stronger bantamweight record than either Cruz or Sterling have authored.