When Mark Zuckerberg's cage-side coaching stopped Merab Dvalishvili from finishing Henry Cejudo
Merab Dvalishvili once let a finish slip from his grasp due to his excitement over having Mark Zuckerberg in attendance for one of his fights. At least, that's what 'The Machine' claims to have happened in his UFC 298 fight with former bantamweight kingpin Henry Cejudo.
During one of the key moments of round two of their clash, Dvalishvili seemed to have secured a guillotine choke, at which point he began chatting with Zuckerberg, who sat cage-side. Unfortunately, it was in the dying seconds of round two, so there wasn't enough time for him to squeeze once he regained his focus.
At the UFC 298 post-fight press conference, Dvalishvili detailed Zuckerberg's involvement in his bout with Cejudo, even crediting him as a coach.
"During the rounds, he was telling me times, '30 seconds left.' He was coaching me. He was my fourth corner[man] tonight. So, it's just conversation, and then when I got him [Henry Cejudo] in the choke, the choke was tight. But I got too excited, I was looking at Mark Zuckerberg. I had too much fun. Maybe I should focus to finish."
Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments about Mark Zuckerberg's presence at UFC 298 (2:27):
Despite failing to finish the choke, Dvalishvili still dominated Cejudo en route to a unanimous decision win, which booked him a bantamweight title fight with Sean O'Malley, who defended the divisional strap at UFC 299 with a stellar beatdown of Marlon 'Chito' Vera.
Now, Dvalishvili and O'Malley will lock horns for bantamweight gold at UFC 306, where 'The Machine' will hope to join Ilia Topuria as the promotion's second-ever Georgian champion.
Merab Dvalishvili shared a triumphant moment with Mark Zuckerberg at UFC 298
Mark Zuckerberg didn't just spectate the Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo bout. After the bantamweight title eliminator, the Meta CEO was part of Dvalishvili's post-fight celebration. The Georgian star scaled the fence and hung over it to shake hands with Zuckerberg, with whom he has struck up a friendship.
Check out Merab Dvalishvili and Mark Zuckerberg shaking hands at UFC 298:
Zuckerberg, a noted combat sports fan, has quickly become a part of the UFC world, appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience, drawing Dana White's interest during the teased fight with Elon Musk, turning up at various UFC events, and training with some of the promotion's best fighters.