As he prepares to attempt to defend his UFC bantamweight title for a fourth time, Merab Dvalishvili is on the cusp of greatness at 135lbs.
The 34-year-old has been utterly dominant in recent years, with his relentless pressure and grappling skills completely overwhelming some of the divisions most celebrated contenders.
On Saturday night Dvalishvili will rematch Petr Yan in the main event of UFC 323 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Victory against Yan would see Merab become the first bantamweight ever to record four title defences in the UFC, and only add to his standing consensus greatest of all time at 135lbs.
Throughout his eight-year stint in the UFC Dvalishvili has claimed a number of records in his dominant performances, including setting the most takedowns ever recorded in a title fight, with 20 scored in his win over Cory Sandhagen in October.
Dvalishvili is currently riding a 14-fight win streak dating all the way back to 2018, and will become the first UFC champion to make four title defences in a calendar year if he can once again overcome Yan when they collide inside the Octagon on Saturday night.
While the Georgian has been frankly unstoppable in recent years, Dvalishvili does not possess an unblemished record as an MMA fighter.
With that said, we took a look back in time to see when was the last time the bantamweight king last tasted defeat inside the cage.
When was Merab Dvalishvili's last loss?
Dvalishvili's last defeat came against Ricky Simon in the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night 128: Barboza vs Lee in April of 2018.
The fight marked Dvalishvili's second UFC appearance after he was defeated by Frankie Saenz in his promotional debut. UFC debutant Simon was drafted in on short notice, with Dvalishvili's original opponent, Augusto Mendes, pulled from the fight the month before following a doping violation.
The story of the fight will come as no surprise to those who have watched Dvalishvili's recent championship triumphs.
From the outset Merab was on the front foot, using pressure to his advantage as he constantly threatened Simon with takedowns and volume striking. The indefatigable Georgian remains in control for the majority of the fight and was likely comfortably ahead on the judges' scorecards heading into the third and final round.
With victory seemingly within his grasp, Dvalishvili was caught in a tight guillotine in the final minute of the round, with Simon fighting desperately to complete the choke as the referee took a close look to ensure he was still conscious.
After the final bell sounded Dvalishvili returned to his feet, only to be shocked as it emerged that the referee had awarded the victory to Simon via technical submission.
Simon has gone on to be a bantamweight contender in his own right in the years since, amassing a UFC record of 10-6 inside the octagon.
