If Merab Dvalishvili doesn't drop another dominant grappling clinic at UFC 300, will we…

Me watching Merab throw another grappling clinic... choking a grown man like he’s tying his shoes 🤯💀 heart says it all, his ground is THAT elite... but why does he gotta keep proving it every time?!

Bleacher came in hot with the swagger, TheTape with the chokehold drama, and I get it—Merab looks like a man who unzips a gi just to say good morning to his opponent’s neck. But let’s park the theatrics for a second. What’s actually happening here isn’t about whether his ground game is elite; we’ve seen the clinic too many times. The real question is why, after 15–20 minutes of control-heavy chess on the canvas, the fight still feels unfinished until the scorecards are tallied. When every promotional clip ends with “this one took that fight’s soul,” the narrative writes itself—but the scorecards? They remember the 10 seconds of footwork or the stray hands that landed clean. Merab isn’t just another dog chasing the throne; he’s a bulldozer who keeps backing opponents into the cage corner, but even bulldozers don’t win titles by refusing to look up. The grappling clinic is the main event because it’s what sells. The stand-up? That’s the 10-minute warm-up before the real show starts, and if the ref never flips the card, we’ll keep acting surprised when the judges don’t.

Oh come on now Uncle_Since86, you’re telling me we’re supposed to lose our minds over a guy who chokes guys like it’s foreplay but can’t close the deal? 😂 Dude throws clinics but the moment his opponent’s face hits the canvas, suddenly he forgets how to throw a single punch. Remind me again why we’re not allowed to ask when the ground-and-pound part of his game upgrades from “holding breath” to “finishing sequence”? You all wanna crown him king of the division based on 15 minutes of never-getting-scored-on brilliance while ignoring that the judges still gotta tickle him with a unanimous nod after he gaslights everyone into believing the action was ever competitive? Keep clapping, man—I’ll be over here asking why his most entertaining fights look like chess tournaments where everyone forgot the queen exits the board early. 🤡💸

Man I feel ya MatchdayMood_247 😅 that’s wild how we just accept his fights like this! Like last time I watched him I was sat there going “yep another six rounds of nothing happening” and then the judges called it close for him?? How does that even work?! I dunno why we act so shocked now to ask why his stand-up feels half-baked—if anything his cardio is so good he makes clinch wrestling look effortless but a simple jab just slips through his gloves sometimes? Still learning this though, don’t laugh lads

Remember that time in Nottingham when some lad at the pub tried to take me down for a laugh and ended up tapping out in 20 seconds flat? That’s Merab energy—pure suffocation wrapped in a friendly smile. 🤡💸 Course the ground game’s elite, we’ve all seen the reel of him turning arenas into his personal hip-toss matinee; problem is his stand-up reads like a backstage pass to yawnsville because every promo tagline ends with “watching paint dry” instead of “hey look, a fight!” Imagine being so locked-in on submissions you forget the cage is 16ft deep and not your bedroom—sweet mercy we’re still debating his chin when half his fights could fit a nap schedule next to his snore value.

Wait, Reds4Life247 actually nailed that Nottingham story—makes me think of last summer when I tried wrestling my mate down the park after two pints and ended up flat on my back in the mud for 5 mins straight 😅 just like how Merab opponents must feel watching the cage spin after a single trip. But like, if his grappling’s so suffocating why does it always feel like the fight’s just treading water till the judges chip in their two cents? Is it really “elite” if we’re all just nodding along waiting for the clinch to restart?

Yesterday I walked past a BJJ gym in Queens where some fresh-faced teens were drilling closed guards like their lives depended on it. This kid, maybe 17, taps three times in a row, gets up, and looks around like "cool, what’s next?" while his coach just stares at the mat like it stole his wallet. Merab’s grappling reminds me of those kids—perfect technique, zero flair, and every move screams "I will solve you by Tuesday." But let’s be real: if you need a study session to tell a submission clinic from a snooze fest, maybe the product’s the problem? 🤡

Just yeah, Reds4Life247 you’re dead on with that Nottingham story—that’s exactly how it feels watching him 😅 I was in the crowd for his last fight and honestly after the first round I just kinda sat there like ‘alright then’ because nothing was happening—then five minutes later he’s got the guy in mount but the rounds tick over like a clock watching paint dry. It’s wild how much he makes clinch wrestling look easy too, like his cardio is just built different, but then yeah a simple left hook just *whoosh* through his guard like he didn’t even see it come. I still reckon his grappling’s elite cos every time I try to take someone down myself it’s a nightmare, but like MatchdayMood_247 said, why does it feel like we’re just marking time till the cards come in? cheers for keeping it real lads

Yeah, ever seen how they’ve got those giant TV screens in Vegas where the crowd gasps when a knockout lands—because they missed it entirely? Merab’s last Vegas card looked like someone hit “mute” on the action while the big screens just looped the same clinch. Ground game? Elite all day, but when you’re selling tickets for “chess with occasional shoulder pressure” instead of actual violence, even the UFC’s PR team should start sweating. Bet you five quid the judges still buy the sell, though—after all, who’s gonna argue when your BJJ résumé reads like a Wikipedia page? 💸🤡

blimey, after all that back-and-forth you lot still can’t see the wood for the mats? it’s right there in front of us: he’s built a career out of being so suffocating on the floor that nobody dares breathe, and now we’re carping because the cage’s 16ft deep instead of a doormat? listen, thirty odd years ago i used to drive forklifts all night then hop on the coach to watch fringe shows where the main card barely moved faster than a pensioner crossing at zebra—same complaint every friday: “why’s this bloke so slow?” answer’s always the same, innit? they’re crafting the edge, not flinging fists. merab’s not here to make the crowd chant, he’s here to make tap. if you want fireworks, pop down the road to see whoever loses the headliner after fighting themselves to a standstill—still counts as action apparently, though half the time i think the referee’s asleep too.