UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili recently opened up about his early struggles in America, including a particularly frustrating experience with a deceptive boxing coach who exploited his dreams of reaching the UFC.
During an interview on the Daniel Cormier Show, Dvalishvili revealed the harsh reality he faced when he first arrived in the United States in 2012 with nothing but ambition and a dream to compete in the UFC.
The Georgian fighter, who didn’t speak English and had no knowledge of where to train, became an easy target for those looking to take advantage of desperate foreign competitors.
“I have a friend in New York, Long Island,” Dvalishvili explained, describing how he initially connected with what he thought would be his path to success. “He said I actually know the guy. He’s a boxing coach. He has a boxing gym close to my house. And I talked to him and he said he will help. He will bring the some grapplers and he will help us to get in UFC.”
The promise quickly proved to be empty. “And it was bullsh*t because this boxing coach was bullsh*t guy,” Dvalishvili stated bluntly. “He has a small boxing gym.”
What followed was a demoralizing period where the future champion found himself training far below his level. “Every day I was going gym two times a day and then I was hitting backs with ladies and kids. They was doing cardio training, you know. Cardio kickboxing. The bullsh*t bro.”
The experience left Dvalishvili questioning his decision to come to America entirely. “And then I’m like, I was so depressing. I was this is training this United States. I was training better in Georgia. Why I’m here, you know, what I’m doing.”
Despite the coach’s false promises about UFC connections, he did push Dvalishvili into boxing competitions. The Georgian went 4-0 in boxing matches, including three wins in Golden Gloves competition before being disqualified when officials discovered his previous MMA experience in Georgia.
“I have other fights also in boxing. Two key boxing fights until I realized this guy was bullsh*t,” Dvalishvili said. “And I was so tired of cutting weight and doing bullsh*t because I’m not a boxer, you know.”
The frustration reached a breaking point where Dvalishvili considered quitting combat sports altogether. “And then I was thinking to that first time when I was thinking to quit you know. But yeah I quit this gym like, I left you know. I’m like, I was not interesting to do it this one anymore.”
Fortunately, Dvalishvili’s story took a turn for the better when he eventually found Ray Longo’s gym, where he would develop into the elite competitor he is today. “Thank God couple months later we finally find the Ray Longo gym. And then Ray of course once I find the Longo team and I find my hope again and I was happy again.”
Dvalishvili’s perseverance through these early setbacks ultimately led him to become one of the most dominant champions in the UFC, currently riding a 13-bout win streak and preparing to defend his title against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320.
