Dvalishvili dominates Frankie Edgar at RAF 9 and calls out Henry Cejudo

Merab Dvalishvili defeated UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar by technical superiority at RAF 9, building a 12-1 scoring advantage through a series of takedowns before the match was stopped under the tech-fall rule.

Dvalishvili’s opening period was shaky — an early takedown attempt was stuffed by Edgar, and the referee issued a warning for inactivity that cost Dvalishvili a point. Edgar’s defensive wrestling held firm through the first period, but the momentum shifted sharply after the restart.

Dvalishvili opened his scoring with a pushout, then converted a single-leg takedown for two more points as he established himself as the busier and more aggressive wrestler. A clash of heads midway through the bout opened a cut on Dvalishvili’s nose — a fresh blow to a nose he had already broken in training — but it did little to slow him down.

In the final period, Dvalishvili landed another single-leg with a slick trip that added four points to his tally. He followed that with a body lock, weathered Edgar’s attempted reversal, and executed a final turn after the takedown to push his lead beyond ten points and trigger the technical superiority stoppage.

Afterwards, Dvalishvili wasted no time identifying his next target: former Olympic champion and UFC double-champion Henry Cejudo, who had been scheduled to face him at Dvalishvili’s RAF debut before pulling out.

“I want to call him out,” Dvalishvili said. “He disappeared when I was ready. Henry, I hope you have big balls to go wrestling with me. Show me some Mexican balls, bro! This is wrestling — one point can change everything. I love RAF. It motivates me. This is a great reason to be busy, to get better everywhere. I’m ready. Whoever. I would like to challenge everybody.”

Dvalishvili is also still awaiting the scheduling of a trilogy bout against reigning UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan, and has indicated he intends to remain active in RAF in the meantime.