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Brett OkamotoOct 11, 2025, 03:29 AM<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: “Chuck and Tito,” which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.<\/p>\n UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili<\/a> sparred five full rounds in the gym last weekend in Las Vegas, approximately nine hours before his title defense against Cory Sandhagen<\/a> at UFC 320 inside T-Mobile Arena.<\/p>\n Dvalishvili (21-4) defeated Sandhagen (18-5) in a relatively dominant decision on Saturday, in what was apparently his second five-round bout that day. During an appearance on Jaxxon Podcast, UFC light heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr.<\/a>, who is Dvalishvili’s teammate at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, said the three-time defending champion sparred five rounds hours before heading to the arena. Syndicate MMA head coach John Wood confirmed the claim to ESPN.<\/p>\n Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n “This isn’t new, it’s funny that Khalil is the one getting it out there,” Wood told ESPN. “Merab has done this ever since I started training him [in 2020]. Every fight day, he goes in and spars for five rounds. He wanted to spar six and I had to stop him.”<\/p>\n According to Wood, the five rounds are at least slightly modified in that the fighters go “about 70 percent.” It’s still an uncommon practice in the sport, however, and meant to be, in Wood’s words, “hard, technical go’s.”<\/p>\n “I’ve had a lot of guys who want to get in a flow round over the years, but this is different,” Wood said. “The way Merab does it, he’s a savage. He’s a straight savage. It used to make me nervous as s— doing this on fight day, until I got to know it’s just part of his process.”<\/p>\n