Merab Dvalishvili stages comeback to defeat Henry Cejudo at RAF Georgia
Merab Dvalishvili secured a dramatic victory over Henry Cejudo at the RAF Georgia event held at the Tbilisi Sports Palace in Tbilisi, Georgia. The match, which marked the first Real American Freestyle event outside the United States, saw Dvalishvili overcome an early deficit to win by points with a score of 11-8.
Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, started strongly, quickly establishing an 8-0 lead. This put him one takedown away from a technical fall. However, Dvalishvili, known for his resilience and persistent attacks, began to turn the tide in the second period.
With the support of the home crowd, Dvalishvili initiated his comeback with a single-leg takedown in the second period. He followed this with another takedown in the third period and utilized a shot clock advantage to narrow the score to 9-8. Dvalishvili then secured additional points to finalize the match with an 11-8 victory.
This contest was the second athletic meeting between Dvalishvili and Cejudo. Their previous encounter occurred two years prior in the UFC, where Dvalishvili also emerged victorious by decision.
Pre-Match Interactions and Other Bouts
Days before their highly anticipated rematch, Dvalishvili and Cejudo shared a friendly meal and a drink. This interaction stood in contrast to their previous rivalry, which included a bitter feud leading up to Cejudo’s 2023 fights against Dvalishvili and his teammate Aljamain Sterling. Cejudo traveled to Dvalishvili’s native Georgia for the event, which was expected to draw a sold-out crowd of over 8,000 spectators.
During their pre-match meeting, Dvalishvili welcomed Cejudo, stating, “We are opponents now, you are my guest and you are from God. You have never been my enemy, this is sport. I respect your family, I respect your work and it has happened organically. We are having lunch together, right?” Cejudo responded with a joke about “no killing today,” to which Dvalishvili replied, “Not today, next time we will be really, really friendly after the [match].” They then shared a toast.
The RAF Georgia event featured a 12-match card with several decorated combat athletes. Kyle Snyder successfully defended his light heavyweight title by defeating two-time Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev via pinfall. Kyle Dake also retained his cruiserweight belt, beating Vladimeri Gamkrelidze on points with a score of 2-0. Helen Maroulis secured the women’s bantamweight title by defeating Anhelina Lysak via pinfall.
The event commenced with Arman Tsarukyan delivering an 11-0 technical fall against Kuat Khamitov in a middleweight bout. This victory extended Tsarukyan’s 2026 RAF record to 7-0. Tsarukyan is scheduled to compete again at RAF 11 on July 18 against Colby Covington in Milwaukee.
Other notable results included Givi Matcharashvili defeating Zach Elam 7-3 on points in a heavyweight match, and Geno Petriashvili securing a 10-0 technical fall against Jake Varner in another heavyweight contest. Vladimer Khinchegashvili achieved an 11-0 technical fall over Conor Beebe in the featherweight division, while Ernazar Akmataliev won his lightweight bout against Zain Retherford on points, with a score of 3-3.
In a catchweight match, Razambek Zhamalov defeated Jarrett Jacques 3-2 on points. Anastasia Nichita won her women’s bantamweight match against Vinesh Phogat 7-6 on points. Additionally, Brock Hardy secured a 12-2 technical fall victory over Alibeg Alibegov in a featherweight contest.
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Source: sports.yahoo.com
