UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria appears to have gained the upper hand during a grappling session with bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili at the UFC Performance Institute.
The footage, which has been making rounds on social media, shows Topuria successfully executing takedowns and maintaining dominant positions against Dvalishvili, who competes two weight classes below the featherweight king.
Many fans and experts have been quick to analyze the training footage, with reactions varying widely across social media. While some view this as evidence of Topuria’s grappling prowess, others point out important context about the nature of training sessions.
“This is sparring,” commented one observer on social media, noting that “Merab isn’t even trying to break the grip or flip to full guard. This is a drill.”
Several comments highlighted the significant weight difference between the two fighters, with one fan remarking, “Of course he is 20 kg heavier and also an elite grappler.”
Another training partner suggested this was likely a controlled training environment where Dvalishvili was intentionally working at reduced intensity to help Topuria prepare for future opponents: “Merab is probably not going 100% but rather 40-60% so Topuria can learn.”
The brief clips appear to be carefully edited segments from what was likely a longer training session, with one viewer pointing out, “This is chopped up footage of like 20 seconds.”
Despite the limited context of the video, it has sparked discussion about Dvalishvili’s potential to compete at featherweight. Known for his relentless cardio and wrestling-heavy approach, some believe Merab could be competitive moving up a weight class, while others suggest the size difference would be too significant to overcome.
Topuria himself has reportedly expressed confidence in Dvalishvili’s ability to compete at featherweight, though the Georgian bantamweight has given no indication he plans to leave his current division where he’s among the top contenders.
As Topuria prepares for his highly anticipated title defense against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, this training footage offers fans a rare glimpse into his preparation, though the true competitive dynamic between these two elite fighters remains difficult to assess from these brief training clips.
