“That’s his second fight of the night” - Merab Dvalishvili’s coach claims he sparred three full rounds with ex-champ on day of UFC 298

UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili was dominant in his victory over former two-division champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 this past weekend.

Dvalishvili displayed an exceptional level of energy and strength, and was relentless in his onslaught against Cejudo despite having a tame start in the first round.

The second and third frames were all the Georgian's, as his highlights included body slamming Cejudo and locking in a guillotine while conversing with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who was seated cageside.

Interestingly, according to coach Ray Longo, the high-octane performance was not Dvalishvili's first of the night. In an interview on the Anik & Florian Podcast, Longo detailed how Dvalishvili had sparred with his teammate and former champion Aljamain Sterling in a "full-blown" three-round bout ahead of his UFC 298 walkout.

Longo said:

“Literally fought Aljo [Aljamain Sterling] – like f*****g brutal. Swinging for the f*****g fences. Like Aljo complains about my boxing… That is way worse, what I just saw. Dude they went at it, three fives [five-minute rounds]. So that’s his second fight of the night. I’m not kidding. Kenny, that’s a fact, that’s not even made up. You know, you can check. You can check with John Wood, you can check with Aljo. Full-blown f*****g fight. I go, ‘Aljo, your cardio looks pretty good…’ I mean, crazy. The guy is nuts. No drilling. Just complete chaos in that fight.”

Check out Longo's full comments in the clip below:

Check out Longo's full interview with Jon Anik and Kenny Florian below (33:30 onwards):

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Alexander Volkanovski demands rematch after loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298

The UFC 298 main event featured a featherweight title clash between Alexander Volkanovski and undefeated challenger Ilia Topuria.

Topuria caught the champ with a right hook in the second round to extend his unbeaten record to 15-0 and secure the title. Volkanovski believes his dominant and lengthy reign as champion warrants an immediate rematch.

In the post-fight press conference, Volkanovski assured things would be different next time around. He said:

“Obviously, I’ve been a champ for a long time. I want that rematch. That’s something that needs to happen. I’ve been reigning champ for how long? I’ve been a bit of a company man. I’ve backed up on short notice and fought Max [Holloway] three times. You name it, I’ve done it. And I’ve been champ for a long time, so I think I deserve that. And it’s going to be different next time.”

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's full comments below (1:04):