Cejudo pins Dvalishvili in 36 seconds at RAF 12 to level wrestling series

Henry Cejudo pinned Merab Dvalishvili in 36 seconds at RAF 12 on Saturday, delivering a dominant reversal of the result from their first wrestling match and levelling the series at one apiece.

Cejudo wasted little time after scoring an early takedown, quickly turning Dvalishvili onto his back and holding his shoulders to the mat until the referee called the match. The finish was a sharp contrast to their opener, in which Cejudo had raced to an 8-0 lead in the first period before running out of gas and allowing Dvalishvili to storm back and win.

Speaking at the RAF 12 post-event press conference, Cejudo credited a focused training block for the turnaround. “When I’m in shape, and I think Izzy [Martinez] said it — ‘when Henry’s in shape, no one will beat him’ — I took that to heart,” he said. “I went out to Amsterdam, N.Y. in upstate New York, and I just dedicated myself for a whole month and a half. After getting beat up by Merab in Georgia, I’ve just got to stay disciplined and dedicated.”

The former two-division UFC champion was candid about why the first defeat happened, acknowledging that years of MMA competition had pulled him away from his wrestling roots. “I’ve been doing this for so long. I’m not surprised that I actually lost to Merab,” Cejudo said. “For 13 years, I’ve been here doing MMA, on my feet doing X, Y and Z. And if the dude has a better gas tank than me and knows how to push the pace, he’ll beat anybody — particularly if you’re not in it and wrestling.”

Cejudo, who won Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling in 2008, said the loss had been a humbling reminder that credentials alone mean nothing without preparation. “I’ve been wrestling since I was a kid but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s humbling but I’m excited for the trilogy.”

Dvalishvili, for his part, indicated he was open to a third meeting but said his immediate priority is a UFC bantamweight title fight against Petr Yan, scheduled for the UFC 333 co-main event in October.

Cejudo’s next outing will come in a different sport entirely: he is set to face Deen the Great in a boxing match under the Misfits Boxing banner.