Georgian fighter Merab Dvalishvili secured a spectacular victory over American Henry Cejudo at the Real American Freestyle (RAF) tournament in Tbilisi.
The freestyle wrestling match started on a highly unfavorable note for Dvalishvili, who fell behind 0-8. However, he managed to score 11 consecutive points to claim an 11-8 victory.
This was the second meeting between the two athletes. They had previously faced each other in the UFC, where Dvalishvili also emerged victorious.
Henry Cejudo is a former two-division UFC champion and an Olympic freestyle wrestling champion, making this victory another major triumph for the Georgian fighter.
The tournament was also a success for other representatives of Georgia. Geno Petriashvili, Givi Matcharashvili, and Vladimer Khinchegashvili all secured victories at RAF Georgia.
Notably, a conflict erupted at a press conference on the eve of the competition. Following a verbal altercation between Merab Dvalishvili and one of the Dagestani participants, sparked by the Georgian fighter’s remarks about Umar Nurmagomedov, the situation nearly escalated into a mass brawl. Several fighters from the Caucasus attempted to charge at the Georgian athletes, but organizers and security personnel managed to quickly bring the situation under control.