Tristar Gym head coach Firas Zahabi suggested that Dvalishvili‘s extraordinary cardiovascular capacity might be a genetic anomaly worthy of scientific investigation.
Zahabi, who has coached former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre, expressed amazement at Dvalishvili‘s seemingly inexhaustible cardio during his victory over O’Malley, which ended with a rare north-south ninja choke submission in the third round.
An Unexplainable Phenomenon
“His cardio is unexplainable,” Zahabi said during his breakdown. “There is no cardio routine known by any expert anywhere that does this, okay? There is no known cardio routine. You can go and you can copy Merab’s cardio routine. You can go and follow him every day. Eat everything he eats. Do everything he does. It won’t give you that kind of cardio.”
The veteran coach went further, suggesting that Dvalishvili‘s endurance capabilities may represent a genetic outlier case that deserves proper scientific examination.
“I think it’s genetic,” Zahabi continued. “You could improve your cardio, but this man has genetics that must be studied. We need to put him in a lab. We need to study him. Something is way different.”
Addressing Performance Enhancement Speculation
During the podcast, Coach Zahabi was careful to address any potential misinterpretation of his comments regarding Dvalishvili‘s remarkable abilities. While discussing the fighter’s seemingly superhuman endurance, Zahabi made it explicitly clear he was not suggesting any improper methods were being used.
“Now, I’ll tell you, I don’t think I’m not saying he’s on EPO. I don’t think he’s on EPO, but he has better cardio than guys on EPO,” Zahabi stated clearly during the podcast. “Okay? I don’t think he’s on EPO. I’m not making any accusations.”
Zahabi noted that Dvalishvili‘s cardio appears to exceed even that of athletes who might be using performance enhancers, though he explicitly stated he doesn’t believe Dvalishvili is using such substances.
“I’m just telling you, even the guys on EPO are like, ‘This guy’s cardio is incredible,’” Zahabi observed.
The Decisive Factor in Championship Victory
Zahabi pointed to a telling moment at the end of the second round that illustrated the vast difference in conditioning between the two fighters.
“At the end of round two, you could tell that O’Malley was tired. He went back to his corner. He was taking deep breaths. He was looking flustered,” Zahabi explained. “And Merab in his corner was smiling, not breathing at all. Just kind of like smiling. He knew it’s like he felt at the end of the round. You could see on Merab’s face. He was so happy.”
Zahabi believes this cardio advantage was the decisive factor in the championship bout, noting that while O’Malley fought well in the first round and made adjustments in the second, he simply couldn’t maintain the pace that Dvalishvili set.
“He felt O’Malley breaking. He felt that O’Malley was at the breaking point,” Zahabi said. “It came down to cardio. He couldn’t keep up the pace and Merab knew it.”
The Rare Finish: North-South Ninja Choke Defense Breakdown
Coach Zahabi also offered valuable technical insights on the submission that ended the fight, highlighting both its rarity and the proper defensive techniques.
“Merab, of course, he was brilliant. He won by Ninja Choke from north south. Something you don’t see very often,” Zahabi explained. “Statistically you don’t really see this choke happen often, the ninja choke. It does happen here and there, of course it does. But a north south ninja choke, that’s even more rare.”
What made this finish particularly impressive was that Dvalishvili is known more for his wrestling and cardio than his submission skills. As Zahabi noted, Merab getting a submission was huge, which goes to show that anything can happen in a fight.
The Setup and Execution
This wasn’t an impromptu submission attempt. Zahabi pointed out that Dvalishvili had actually attempted similar front headlock attacks earlier in the fight.
“If you guys watch the fight in round one, when he got on top of O’Malley, O’Malley was on his knees and he tried to go high wrist,” Zahabi observed. “Sometimes when you go high wrist, you can go into a power guillotine, you can go into high elbow guillotine, and of course, you can cinch it up in a ninja choke.”
The Proper Defense
According to Zahabi, O’Malley initially attempted the correct defensive technique but failed to execute it completely, likely due to fatigue.
“You got to spin to your back. O’Malley did the right defense,” Zahabi explained. “However, when you spin to your back, you got to bring your knees in between your chest and your opponent. That’s the one part he was missing.”
The coach broke down the proper escape technique:
- Spin to your back (which O’Malley did correctly)
- Curl your knees tightly into your chest (O’Malley‘s knees weren’t tight enough)
- Use your arms to pry your opponent off
- Create space between you and your opponent
- Slide your knees into that space to use as a wedge
- Use the wedge to break free
Zahabi also noted that O’Malley‘s position against the fence could have been used to his advantage:
“If he had walked along the fence, if he had inverted his body upside down, if he kept lifting his legs kind of towards Merab‘s back… he could have popped his head out.”
An Unprecedented Phenomenon
According to Zahabi, Dvalishvili‘s cardio remains the most puzzling aspect of his fighting style and represents something unprecedented in MMA.
“This has never been seen before,” the coach concluded. “It’s never been seen before.”
The combination of Dvalishvili‘s genetic cardiovascular advantages and his technical evolution as a submission threat makes him a unique challenge in the bantamweight division, one that Zahabi believes deserves scientific study to better understand the limits of human athletic performance.
