Most fight fans will remember UFC Vegas 71 for Merab Dvalishvili’s dominant upset over former bantamweight champion Petr Yan Saturday.
The Tbilisi-born Dvalishvili stood up to the Russian striker for five rounds, wrestling him into what he hopes will be a humbling defeat. For Dvalishvili — who remembers being bombed by Russians as a teen in Georgia — it was a satisfying end to a bout preceded by personal attacks and tainted by current geopolitics.
But the greatest upset of the night went completely unheralded — even though it was pretty obvious to someone who’s just a casual observer of the sport, like me.