One of Conor McGregor’s former teammates appreciated the reigning UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili’s in-Octagon resilience after the conclusion of the boxing event Garcia vs. Romero: Fatal Fury.
The multi-sport fighter, known for his controversial comments, criticized the sport of boxing with reference to Dvalishvili’s capacity to neutralize fighters with a strike-heavy style.
Merab Dvalishvili’s Appreciator Saw Him Finishing Six Boxers on the Garcia vs. Romero Card
The former teammate of McGregor in the discussion here is Dillon Danis, a multiple-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion. Danis has also ventured into a few other martial arts genres, including boxing. ‘El Jefe’ had the lone boxing match of his career against the celebrity boxer, Logan Paul, on Oct. 14, 2023. His unsportsmanlike conduct in the final round of the fight got him disqualified, subjecting him to a humiliating defeat.
Danis kept his eyes on the recently concluded Garcia vs. Romero: Fatal Fury boxing event, which featured four pivotal clashes, including two title fights. This is what the full card of the event looked like.
- Rolly Romero vs. Ryan Garcia (WBA welterweight title fight)
- Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez
- Teofimo Lopez vs. Arnold Barboza (Ring Magazine and WBO super lightweight title fight)
- Reito Tsutsumi vs. Levale Whittington
After witnessing the action, Danis posted an X update, which indicated that he probably wasn’t pleased with the quality of the fights on the Fatal Fury card. He criticized the entire sport of boxing by calling it a “joke.” Danis also opined that the reigning Bantamweight champion Dvalishvili would finish all the top six boxers on the card consecutively within “30 minutes” if there’s a relaxation on the rules.
He mentioned, “Boxing’s a joke when Merab Dvalishvili could run through all 6 guys in the main event back-to-back, no rest, and finish them all in under 30 minutes.”
Boxing’s a joke when Merab Dvalishvili could run through all 6 guys in the main event back-to-back, no rest, and finish them all in under 30 minutes.
— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) May 3, 2025
Danis may have gone a bit too far by predicting that Dvalishvili could finish all the top six boxers of the card within 30 minutes. But, the Georgian has conquered several strike-heavy fighters in his UFC career to date. Dvalishvili’s class-apart wrestling skills and seemingly infinite cardio can surely spell trouble for Fatal Fury’s top six boxers, including household names like Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney.
Dvalishvili’s UFC 306 encounter against Sean O’Malley stands as an apt example of how he uses his ground game to control his rivals who prefer a stand-and-strike fight. Dvalishvili stayed out of O’Malley’s range for most of the fight, saving himself from his vicious strikes.
His well-timed takedowns disrupted whatever momentum “Sugar” picked up during the fight. Dvalishvili controlled O’Malley on the ground for a significant amount of time, earning himself a victory via unanimous decision in the end. A clash between each of the top six boxers on the Fatal Fury card and Dvalishvili might end similarly.