Merab Dvalishvili is backing Gina Carano in a big way ahead of her high-profile return against Ronda Rousey at MVP's inaugural MMA event on Netflix.
Carano and Rousey are set to return from long layoffs to headline the May 16 card at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Carano has been preparing at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, where she has logged several training sessions with Dvalishvili.
"It was great honor for me to train with her and I was surprised – good surprised at how good she is," Dvalishvili said on "The Ariel Helwani Show." He added, "Ronda Rousey has a judo background. I also have a judo background, and I was super judo. And I think Gina Carano will win this fight, how good she is."
Dvalishvili said his opinion of Carano changed once they shared the mats. "When she was fighting, I was very young and I was not even in MMA. I (had) never seen her fight before. But when I was training with her, I was so impressed, and I went and watched her everything, I checked all her fights and she's the real deal, and I think she can beat Ronda Rousey. It's going to make UFC fighters look bad, and she's going to make judo also look bad."
According to Dvalishvili, Carano has shown clear physical and training improvements. "I see the change, like, even her body change and her training change and everything," he said. "She's really training high level, and I think she's going to deliver."
