'I do record everything': The told and untold stories of Merab Dvalishvili

IN FEBRUARY 2021, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili made 1 of the dumbest decisions of his beingness during 1 of the biggest snowstorms to deed Long Island, New York, successful a decade. His coach, Ray Longo, told the full Serra-Long Fight Team that the gym was closed for 2 days. Stay home. With grooming canceled, Dvalishvili went connected a tally astir a adjacent park. When he'd finished, helium decided to person himself a bully small crystal bath, close determination successful the lake.

"I don't similar to cheque the somesthesia of a bath earlier I get in, due to the fact that it's truthful acold and it makes it harder [to get in]," Dvalishvili tells ESPN. "I knew the h2o wasn't deep, truthful I didn't deliberation I could leap successful feetfirst. I wanted to leap successful astatine an angle, similar you bash successful shallow water. I didn't recognize the h2o was frozen."

He went for it, pushing disconnected the slope with some feet, hands outstretched. The crystal broke, but not without a whole batch of resistance. Dvalishvili instantly stood up, enactment his hands connected his caput and began repeating, "F---, I americium truthful stupid. I americium truthful stupid. F---."

Dvalishvili went consecutive to the exigency room, wherever a chopped connected the close broadside of his caput was closed with staples. For the longest time, hairsbreadth wouldn't turn from the scar site. But aft undergoing a hairsbreadth transplant 2 years later, helium looks bully arsenic new."

Diving headfirst into that water is admittedly 1 of the dumbest things Dvalishvili has ever done. One of the smartest things helium has ever done is station a video of the full happening to the internet. It went viral and gained him tens of thousands of followers successful a azygous day.

"I didn't adjacent retrieve I'd filmed it astatine first," Dvalishvili says. "When I was walking home, I said, 'Oh s---, I was filming.' I watched it and I laughed astatine myself. I said, 'I'm going to station it. Some radical volition telephone maine stupid, but this is me, this is reality.'"

In speaking with those closest to him, arsenic good arsenic Dvalishvili himself, each portion of this communicative -- jumping into a frozen lake, filming himself doing it and laughing astir it afterward -- is classical Merab. The 34-year-old champion is simply a "lovable idiot," successful the words of 1 friend. He is obsessed with his telephone and regularly films everything helium does. Regardless of the situation, helium is Act First, Think Second, Post to Social Media Third.

Dvalishvili (19-4) is scheduled to support his 135-pound rubric successful a rematch against Sean O'Malley (18-2) astatine UFC 316 connected Saturday successful New Jersey (10 p.m. ET connected ESPN PPV, with prelims astatine 8 connected ESPN/ESPN+/Disney+ and aboriginal prelims astatine 6 p.m. connected ESPN+/Disney+). Although Dvalishvili took the loop from O'Malley successful their archetypal combat successful October, O'Malley remains the bigger prima of the two. That's improbable to alteration successful the adjacent future, but Dvalishvili's humor, honesty and quirkiness are dilatory starting to triumph implicit the MMA community.

Ahead of this weekend's rematch, ESPN spoke to Dvalishvili's friends, teammates and household members to uncover antecedently unheard stories that exemplify this classical Merab character. The results bash not disappoint.

Growing up with Merab: '[He] didn't cognize what fearfulness was'

Unsurprisingly, Dvalishvili has had a near-death experience. Actually, helium has had a few.

When helium was 6, helium astir drowned successful a stream portion helium and his 2 older brothers were hiking successful their autochthonal state of Georgia.

"Merab didn't cognize what fearfulness was," Dvalishvili's eldest brother, Misha, told ESPN. "Even arsenic a child, helium was impulsive, assured and loved to instrumentality risks. We were connected a travel to the mountains and helium dove consecutive into an icy upland river, and it carried him distant successful an instant. Our different brother, Malkhaz, instantly recognized the information and pulled him out. Had helium been adjacent a infinitesimal late, helium mightiness not person saved him."

Dvalishvili's eyes inactive widen erstwhile that communicative is told -- successful a consciousness verifying however superior the consequences could person been.

"They were saying the stream was unsafe and I was like, 'Ah, I don't springiness a s---,'" Dvalishvili says. "There were immoderate deeper areas wherever you tin swim, but successful the much shallow areas, it's faster and the stream stole me." But adjacent successful the look of threat, Misha said his younger member ne'er panicked.

"From that time on, helium continued to aquatics freely and fearlessly successful the icy rivers of the mountains," Misha said. "He hadn't felt successful information astatine all. To him, it was natural: acold water, a almighty existent and the thrill of movement. Where others saw danger, Merab saw freedom."

That makes consciousness erstwhile you see that respective of Dvalishvili's astir viral clips person progressive water. In summation to the frozen water debacle, helium dove disconnected a cliff and tried to aquatics against the existent portion vacationing successful Jamaica with his friends and teammates Aljamain Sterling and Al Iaquinta 2 summers ago. Eight months later, helium posted a clip of himself swimming underwater the magnitude of a Las Vegas pool, holding his enactment for a afloat 30 seconds successful the process.

IT DIDN'T TAKE agelong for Dvalishvili's brothers to recognize they couldn't adjacent play astir with him successful presumption of issuing risky challenges. He'd judge a situation connected the spot.

"We lived successful the colony erstwhile we were kids, and we had horses there," Malkhaz said. "One day, I went to the marketplace and brought backmost horseshoe nails. When I got home, Merab was playing successful the yard. I near the nails adjacent the entranceway and jokingly said, 'Let's spot however hard you tin leap connected these nails, Merab!' and past I stepped distant to drawback something.

"Merab took maine seriously. He ran and jumped close onto the nails. One of them pierced his ft and helium was bleeding. I was terrified, but Merab was laughing and adjacent said, 'Don't worry! Did I scare you?'"

IN 1999, WHEN Dvalishvili was 9, his household moved to Tbilisi, Georgia's capital. They were surviving successful a basement apartment, and Malkhaz was called upon to prevention his youngest brother's beingness -- for a 2nd clip earlier the property of 10.

"Merab had been playing extracurricular with the different kids, and arsenic helium was moving backmost into the house, helium touched immoderate exposed electrical wires," said Dvalishvili's father, Amiran. "The existent struck him and helium froze, clinging to the metallic railing, incapable to speak. Malkhaz kicked Merab with each of his spot to interruption the electrical contact. If Malkhaz had been adjacent a fewer seconds later, it could person been tragic. Merab's palms were severely burned. It was a terrifying infinitesimal that I volition ne'er forget."

Dvalishvili smiles and shrugs erstwhile helium hears stories similar this rehashed. He can't assistance who helium is. "My oldest member is smart, you know?" helium says. "My 2nd member is precise kind, spiritual and conscionable wants to springiness everybody love; [he's] peaceful. I instrumentality risks. Eventually, I deliberation I'm going to get joined and person kids and past I volition conscionable be, uh, much smart. Stop doing brainsick s---."

Working with Merab: 'I bash grounds everything'

Several weeks earlier his archetypal rubric combat against O'Malley astatine UFC 306 successful September, Dvalishvili suffered a nasty chopped implicit his near oculus successful practice. Any benignant of chopped during campy tin enactment a combatant astatine a disadvantage. The worst ones tin endanger to cancel a combat entirely, truthful they are typically treated with aggravated secrecy by a combatant and his camp. Dvalishvili posted his cut, which required stitches, to societal media.

UFC CEO Dana White called Dvalishvili's determination to station astir the chopped "next-level stupid." "Our guys can't f---ing hold to propulsion it up connected societal media [when thing happens successful camp]," White said. One week later, Dvalishvili posted a video of himself removing his stitches -- with a brace of manus scissors.

"You ever spot the scissors they instrumentality stitches retired with?" White said. "This feline had f---ing bush shears you usage to trim your f---ing bushes ... I deliberation he's conscionable f---ing with maine now."

Longo, who became Dvalishvili's caput manager successful 2012 and present shares that relation with Las Vegas-based Syndicate MMA trainer John Wood, said Dvalishvili has ever been that mode with filming and posting to societal media. Same arsenic the risk-taking, helium can't assistance it.

"He's brainsick with the camera and he's been similar that from time one," Longo told ESPN. "He's ever filming everything. When helium took retired the stitches with those immense scissors, I told him, 'You can't beryllium pissing Dana White disconnected similar this.' And helium conscionable said, 'Ray, this is nothing.'

"Every clip we instrumentality a squad representation successful the gym, I conscionable sprout the picture, you know? He's got to marque definite the space is right, the lighting is good. He's meticulous with the pictures. It's nonstop. A batch of guys, that would beryllium annoying, but he's got truthful overmuch joyousness doing it."

DURING THE TRIP to Jamaica with Sterling, Dvalishvili got into a near-altercation with a circuit usher and the section constabulary implicit a accusation of nonpayment. At the tallness of the conflict, Sterling turned astir and couldn't judge what helium saw.

"This feline from the [tour] radical came backmost to america with a machete and everything. It was beauteous aggravated -- and past Merab started filming it all," Sterling told ESPN. "He's filming himself yelling astatine the feline and putting his camera successful the guy's face, and I'm like, 'Brother, delight don't bash that. We get changeable by these guys close now, cipher is ever seeing that film.'"

Actively sharing his beingness connected societal media isn't the worst happening for Dvalishvili, whose income does rely, partially, connected increasing his online instrumentality base. But mostly, Dvalishvili says helium enjoys making content, whether it's taking down a "600-pound gorilla" successful the gym, wearing a pillow shaped similar O'Malley's look successful a babe bearer oregon lasting mode excessively adjacent to the borderline of each cliff, ledge and balcony he's ever been on.

"In general, I bash grounds everything," helium says. "In the beginning, I wasn't posting to anyone due to the fact that I conscionable wanted to prevention it oregon it wasn't interesting, but arsenic radical spot now, I similar editing videos to marque them comic oregon interesting. I don't caput making amusive of myself, and if I spot thing interesting, I don't lone privation to support it to myself. I similar to propulsion it retired determination if it's affirmative vigor oregon thing we tin each larn from."

Living with Merab: 'He has ever stood up for the truth'

A small implicit a twelvemonth ago, Dvalishvili was scheduled to country his teammate and chap Georgian Aleko Sagliani against Ahmad Hassanzada successful a section MMA amusement successful Las Vegas. The stakes were high, due to the fact that the victor was expected to get an invitation to combat connected "Dana White's Contender Series."

The combat played retired astatine the Sahara Las Vegas, and Dvalishvili's teammate came up short. Sagliani and Hassanzada went to the backmost to acquisition regular postfight aesculapian evaluation, and members of each squad ended up successful thing of a holding country nearby. The buildup to the bout had been tense and each radical was alternatively large. Dvalishvili congratulated the members of the different squad and asked them to beryllium respectful and not observe excessively overmuch until everyone had gone their abstracted ways. Instead, the prefight hostility boiled implicit erstwhile the 2 groups started to spell backmost and forth.

"People commencement swinging connected each other, and maine and my different coaches are like, 'Are we breaking this up oregon getting involved?'" said Wood. "We fundamentally ended up doing a small spot of both. There were astir 20 radical involved. I didn't adjacent cognize who was who.

"Merab was successful medicals with Aleko this full time, and things were astir to chill down -- but past retired of obscurity from down the curtain, I spot Merab conscionable leap the enactment and travel sprinting successful to tackle and commencement open-hand slapping this guy. After that, each hellhole broke loose."

There person been aggregate incidents caught connected movie successful which Dvalishvili confronted UFC fans helium perceived arsenic disrespectful -- to him or, especially, to his teammates. A period earlier his archetypal gathering with O'Malley past year, Dvalishvili was filmed leaping implicit a barricade to face a heckler. He past had to beryllium separated from a idiosyncratic successful the beforehand enactment of UFC 310 aft Sterling mislaid a determination to Movsar Evloev 3 months later.

One of the much hard chapters of Dvalishvili's vocation came erstwhile Sterling was champion of the men's bantamweight division. The UFC expressed involvement successful having the 2 friends combat each other, and Dvalishvili refused to adjacent entertain the idea. He stands by his principles and ignores the anticipation of consequences erstwhile they are challenged. So, erstwhile Dvalishvili felt that Hassanzada's squad was disrespecting his teammate aft a loss, helium didn't hesitate to act.

"One of my friends was begging them to conscionable calm down and springiness america respect, and they were going connected and on," Dvalishvili says. "When I came retired and inactive heard that, I was like, 'Get the f--- retired of here.' Once my teammates saw me, everybody was going. Even John Wood was walking astir similar a robot with his hands up, looking for idiosyncratic to punch."

EVEN AS A CHILD, Dvalishvili's household said helium ne'er stood for disrespecting others, particularly erstwhile it comes to kicking idiosyncratic erstwhile they're down. He was the youngest of three, but ne'er turned to his older brothers for assistance successful a conflict. His mother, Darejan, tin callback an lawsuit erstwhile helium was 3, that helium was playing with a tiny ax, chopping wood successful the beforehand yard, and took aft an older kid who was bullying his member -- ax inactive successful hand.

That intolerance for intimidation followed Dvalishvili to the city.

"He has ever stood up for the truth," Malkhaz said. "In Tbilisi, helium often had to combat successful the streets implicit injustice oregon bullying. There was a clip I saw him instrumentality connected 3 boys astatine once. He was ever autarkic successful that. He ne'er came to us, the older brothers, to get progressive successful that. And erstwhile they told him they wanted to combat his older brothers, that made him angrier."

DESPITE BEING SOMEONE who would, and did, nonchalantly propulsion himself into a frozen lake, Dvalishvili holds a heavy consciousness of responsibility. When thing is entrusted to him, helium takes that precise seriously.

When helium was 6, Dvalishvili's household was invited to a day solemnisation successful his village, and his parent decided to cook a cake. She had each constituent she required, but for a instrumentality of butter.

The closest marketplace to Dvalishvili's location was 7 miles away, and the remainder of his household members were engaged that morning. His parent handed him wealth and gave him basal instructions for however to bring backmost a instrumentality of butter.

"They told me, 'Merab, you're a large man, you tin bash this,'" Dvalishvili says. "They said each I had to bash was spell to the proscription center, hold for the autobus and past don't get disconnected until it makes its past stop. They said, 'Buy the food and past spell backmost to the autobus halt and conscionable bash the nonstop aforesaid thing. Don't spell obscurity else.'"

The archetypal fractional of Dvalishvili's travel went well. He made it to the marketplace and purchased the butter, conscionable arsenic helium had been told.

"He followed the instructions precisely," Darejan said. "But for immoderate reason, helium didn't enactment it successful a bag. He conscionable held the instrumentality of food successful his hands, and it was a blistery summertime day."

Dvalishvili had taken the task -- and instructions -- truthful seriously, helium did not adhd the other measurement of putting the food successful a bag. He was determined to bash arsenic he'd been told, and nary 1 had said thing astir immoderate bag. He sat astatine that autobus halt 7 miles from his location and agonizingly watched the food melt betwixt his fingers.

"I wanted to outcry truthful bad, but I besides wanted to beryllium pugnacious and, you know, not springiness up connected my mission," Dvalishvili says. "I wanted to beryllium a large man, similar they'd said. Once I did marque it to my autobus stop, though, I ran location and instantly started crying."

Darejan holds truthful galore memories of each of her sons adjacent to her heart, but that time with the food has ever stood out. It's 1 of the family's favourite stories to tell.

Dvalishvili became the unofficial market shopper of the household and made galore much trips to the marketplace aft that, due to the fact that adjacent though the archetypal ngo didn't spell arsenic planned, everyone knew he'd ne'er fto it hap again.

"That infinitesimal with the food has ever stayed with me, seeing a kid instrumentality work for thing truthful seriously," Darejan said. "It mightiness look similar a tiny thing, but for me, seeing Merab lasting determination with melted food and tears successful his eyes said much than words ever could. I hugged him and we some laughed a lot."

As comic arsenic it sounds, these stories astir Dvalishvili necktie successful perfectly with the existent communicative of his title run. He has been underappreciated astatine times -- and helium has done immoderate undeniably dumb worldly on the mode -- but successful his ain Merab way, he's leaving his mark.