Georgian sensation Merab Dvalishvili is making ready for the primary protection of his bantamweight title, which can arrive in just some weeks’ time at UFC 311 in Los Angeles.
This week, ‘The Machine’ took a brief break from coaching to take a seat down with veteran UFC coach Eric Nicksick; revealing that he as soon as beat up Hollywood actor Kevin James with out understanding who the silver-screen star even was.
Merab Dvalishvili recaps beating up Hollywood actor in sparring
At Ray Longo’s MMA gymnasium in New York, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has been capable of practice with among the finest MMA fighters on the earth and because it seems, even one or two Hollywood superstars.
Talking on Nicksick’s ‘Verse Us’ Podcast, Dvalishvili would hilariously recap the time he beat up famed actor Kevin James, star of the MMA film ‘Right here Comes the Increase’, after mistaking the actor for a retired wrestler.
“It was {the summertime}, and Chris Weidman made a textual content group, he stated ‘Okay guys let’s practice within the morning in our professional teams’, so I am going – perhaps there was like eight guys there; Al Iaquinta, Aljamain Sterling, James Gonzales, Chris Weidman – and there may be some a bit bit fats man.
“We’re all professionals, so I noticed this man and in my head, I’m like ‘Is that this man a former fighter, perhaps an older wrestler?’ – [because] solely us professional guys had been invited.”
This coaching session reportedly befell in 2018, six years after Right here Comes the Increase got here out, though in keeping with Dvalishvili, James was nonetheless in first rate form and took the coaching fairly significantly.
“Anyway, we heat up, did some coaching however now we’ve acquired gloves and shin guards and we’re going to do sparring – and everybody grabs their coaching companion, and I acquired this man Kevin James; he appeared acquainted, however I had no concept [who he was].
“So we’re within the cage sparring and he’s sort of throwing heavy, laborious [shots] after which like, after I tried one thing, he could be there hitting heavy. I see he’s making an attempt to battle.”
As Nicknick and co-host Randy Faehnrich burst into laughter, Dvalishvili would admit that since James got here in with a “laborious tempo,” he needed to train the Hollywood actor an equally laborious lesson.
“He is aware of [how to fight], he’s not like on the very starting [of training], he has a tough tempo after which I’ve to go laborious [too], transfer round, chop the leg and punch and shoot [takedowns]… I needed to do my finest as a result of he’s larger than me and stronger than me.
“I used to be going laborious to hopefully make him drained and break him – I actually went laborious I keep in mind – after which after, I don’t what Kevin James informed Chris Weidman, however Chris began laughing like ‘Merab, you don’t know who that is?!’ – I had no clue.”
Over the previous two years or so, Dvalishvili’s persona has come to the forefront in a unbelievable manner, along with his comedy skits on social media even rivaling these of featherweight Alexander Volkanovski.
However there’ll be no joking round come January 18, when Dvalishvili steps again into the octagon to defend his bantamweight title towards undefeated contender Umar Nurmagomedov.
UFC 311 goes down reside from LA on Saturday, January 18.
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