Merab Dvalishvili has trained with Gina Carano ahead of her May 16 Netflix fight against Ronda Rousey, and what he saw was enough to make him pick the significant underdog.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, the former UFC bantamweight champion shared a genuinely surprised reaction to his experience working alongside Carano in camp.
“It was a great honor for me to train with her. I was surprised with how good Gina is. Ronda Rousey has a judo background, and I also do, but I think Gina Carano will win this fight. When she was fighting, I was really young and had never seen her fight before, but when I trained with her, I was so impressed and went back and checked everything. She’s the real deal!”
Dvalishvili also framed the potential upset in terms of what it would mean for the broader combat sports landscape.
“It’s going to make UFC fighters look bad, and she’s going to make Judo also look bad, but I think she’s going to win. She’s training really hard. I’ve seen her body and her training change in this camp.”
Carano has not won an MMA fight since a unanimous decision over Kelly Kobold in 2008, and last competed professionally in 2009. Rousey is entering as a big favorite despite being nearly a decade away from the sport. Dvalishvili is expected to return to the UFC Octagon later this year for a trilogy fight against Petr Yan.