There are countless intriguing tales stemming from the career of Merab Dvalishvili, the renowned UFC bantamweight champ, but a surprising encounter in the gym tops them all. Dvalishvili, popular for his high-spirited persona and limitless enthusiasm, narrated an incident when he ended up practicing in a ring with famous Hollywood actor Kevin James, completely oblivious of his identity. Always known for his focus, Dvalishvili was engaged in his own sphere at the gym, not giving much thought to the identity of his sparring partner. It was only later he was informed about the true identity of his uniquely-competent opponent. In true Merab style, he manages to take in stride these interesting surprises life throws at him, a candid interaction he had on a podcast bears testament to it.
The incident occurred a while after Dvalishvili’s second fight with UFC in 2018, which despite ending in a loss, got him a bonus. During a late-night training period, he was accompanied by seven others and one more person who seemed slightly overweight. A cluster of professional trainers had convened that particular morning after getting an invitation through a group text. As it turns out, the slightly overweight person was none other than Kevin James, known for his humor-filled roles in movies like ‘Grown Ups’ and ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop’.
Interestingly enough, the man known for his comic timing on the silver screen, Kevin James, is well-versed in the art of wrestling. In his younger years, he was an esteemed heavyweight wrestler at his high school. Further cementing his ties to the MMA world, he also starred in one of the universally acclaimed MMA movies ‘Here Comes The Boom.’ The movie’s plot centered around a teacher, played by James, determined to save his school’s music department by winning an MMA tournament.
It’s critical to note, knowing nothing of this, Dvalishvili did not display any leniency while sparring with James. Merab vividly portrayed the scenario from the training session, where James’ presence emanated a sense of familiarity amongst the series of professional fighters. Initially, Dvalishvili, seeing James’ demeanor and physicality, assumed that he could be an ex-MMA fighter or a wrestler.
When it was time for sparring in the training, Dvalishvili found himself paired with Kevin James. Although there was an inkling of familiarity in James’ face, Dvalishvili failed to connect the dots. It wasn’t until they began engaging in the sparring session did he realize James wasn’t there merely to make a symbolic presence – he was there to fight. The intensity of James’ punches indicated his serious approach to the training.
Dvalishvili, rather than backing down, decided to amplify the intensity of the session with the aim of exhausting James. His goal was to assess James’ resilience and long-lasting endurance. Keeping pace with his regular training vigor, Merab continued the fierce session whilst remaining deeply engrossed as though it was just any other day of intensive training.
A few intense minutes flew by, both men resolute on giving the sparring session their all, with Dvalishvili leading with an uncompromising drive. And that was when he was alerted about the actual identity of his opponent. The training session took a sudden turn when somebody informed Merab that he had been sparring with a well-known Hollywood actor. Unbeknownst to him, he’d been in an intense face-off with a celebrity, entirely invested in the moment as he would be in any professional setting.