Sports

Mixed Martial Arts

Mark La Monica

Dylan Mantello can quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela and Aristotle, and be conversationally on point with his usage of their words rather than sound like someone who Googled famous quotes just to sound smart. 
So right off the bat, Mantello doesn’t fit into society’s general preconceived image of a mixed martial arts fighter. 
The Sayville-raised Mantello also describes himself as "risk averse," which doesn’t quite jive with the nature of his chosen sport, one full of punches to the face, kicks to the ribs, chokes around the neck and the occasional albeit accidental pokes to the eyes. 
But for Mantello, 28 and an undefeated fast-rising lightweight prospect, he views his self-aware description through the opposite side of the lens. 
"I got to a point where, it was a bigger risk if I didn't try it," Mantello said of competing in MMA. "I thought about what my life would be like if I didn't do it. And that scared me way more than anybody could in the cage. So it's really running away from that fear, as opposed to the other fear. Two different, competing fears. I think you have to pick the right one to motivate you." 
He appears to have made the right choice thus far. Mantello, who trains under Ray Longo and Matt Serra, went 6-0 as an amateur and is 4-0 as a professional. He’ll fight John Ramirez (5-5) from Iowa on Friday at Ring of Combat 74 in Atlantic City for the vacant lightweight championship. 
Mantello is one of three LAW-MMA fighters competing for titles on the card. Shirley’s James Gonzalez will be defending his national featherweight title and Merrick’s Dennis Buzukja his regional featherweight title. Teammates Lauren Braccia, Damion Nelson and Chris Alcala also are on the ROC 74 card, as are John Caldone and Kareem Kline of Long Island MMA in Farmingdale. The fights will stream on <a href="https://www.fite.tv/watch/ring-of-combat-74/2pa6d/">fite.tv</a>. 
Mantello lives in Island Park with his fiancee, Samantha, and her 4-year-old son, Jordan. He works full-time for a leasing company for retail shopping centers. Balanced with work, family and his fighting career goals, the 6-1 lightweight appears to be taking his first title bout in stride as he prepares. 
"I'm just a pessimist by nature, so I envision the worst possible thing happening to me," Mantello said. "So every single workout, honestly, I'm training like there's a guy out there ready to kill me, hurt me in front of my whole family and embarrass me, so as far as I'm concerned, that's as much motivation as I need. If I get a belt, that means something afterwards, but beforehand, it doesn't." 
Nicknamed "The Quiet Man" after the 1952 John Wayne movie he used to watch every St. Patrick’s Day with his father, Mantello gravitated toward fighting at a young age. Middle school, in fact. Except those fights were in the streets, not cages. 
He began actual MMA training while a freshman in college at LSU. His passion for the sport continued through college, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English, and took greater hold when he returned home to Long Island. 
"Once I graduated, I said I this is exactly what I want to do with my life," Mantello said. "So I said let's do it. Let's burn the boats and commit myself to it." 
While sitting in a class at Hofstra in his first semester of graduate school, Mantello searched the web for nearby MMA gyms. He found Longo and Weidman MMA in Garden City, about 1.1 miles away from where he was sitting at the time. 
"I got up after the class and got in my car and drove there," Mantello said. 
He met Longo, who at the time had trained two UFC champions (he’s up to three now) and close to a dozen UFC fighters. One of those two champions, Chris Weidman, was training in the gym at the time. 
"He's very intimidating," Mantello said of meeting Longo for the first time. "You know, he’s got the eyes." 
Graduate school was over. 
"Just something that grabbed me," Mantello said. "Who knows why, but it was something that never went away. So I said, This is what I want to do with my life.' "

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Sayville's 'Quiet Man' Dylan Mantello goes for his first title at Ring of Combat

He's a pessimist. He's risk averse. And he's an undefeated MMA fighter.

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Here comes the opportunity Merab Dvalishvili kept asking for every time a microphone was placed in front of his face and questions were asked of him. 
Top-ranked opponent. Big name. Chance to test himself against the best bantamweights the UFC has to offer as he climbs the ladder in the 135-pound division. 
Dvalishvili, a Serra-Longo fighter who lives in Bellmore, will face Marlon Moraes in the featured prelim bout at UFC 266 in Las Vegas on Saturday night. 
"I have a healthy respect for Marlon Moraes. He was a World Series of Fighting champion, and in UFC, he was No. 1 for a long time," Dvalishvili said. "He throws hard, power in kicking and punching." 
The 11th-ranked Dvalishvili (13-4), from the Republic of Georgia, showcased his ever-improving striking his last two fights with unanimous-decision victories over Cody Stamann and John Dodson. 
But when the subject of Merab Dvalishvili comes up in discussions among those who follow mixed martial arts, two other things quickly rocket to the forefront: his takedowns and his pace. 
In his eight UFC fights (six wins, two questionable decision losses), Dvalishvili has 59 takedowns, tops in the division’s history in the promotion. His 13 takedowns of Gustavo Lopez in June 2020 were the most in a single fight in UFC bantamweight history. Of course, he broke his own record of 12 set in his previous fight four months earlier. 
"When you take somebody down, and you’re on top, when you hug or even when you punch, it looks you’re winning it," Dvalishvili said. "That’s why I like to make sure I’m winning. The strike exchanges, sometimes looks weird, like maybe I think I’m winning, but . . . " 
But, as the saying goes in MMA, don’t leave it in the judges’ hands to decide. 
Dvalishvili has the conditioning to go the full 15 minutes without getting tired. All eight of his UFC fights have gone the distance. It’s how he earned his nickname "The Machine" from teammates in the gym who have worked with him, a group that includes current UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta. Dvalishvili’s pace can be relentless, both on the feet and on the ground. 
The sixth-ranked Moraes (23-8-1) possesses a level of power in his striking that few 135-pounders can match. But he has struggled a bit record-wise since joining the UFC in 2017. He’s 5-4, including two straight losses by TKO to Rob Font and Cory Sandhagen. 
"It’s a fight, and even though he lost his last two, I still have so much respect, and it’s not going to be easy for me. I’m just going to be focused from the first second to the last second," Dvalishvili said. "When I say first second to last second, I want to make sure I’m the leader, I’m dominating, I’m the guy who puts pressure on his opponent." 
Dvalishvili kicks off a busy seven-week run for the Serra-Longo fight team. CFFC flyweight champion Phumi Nkuta defends his title on Oct. 2. Dylan Mantello, Dennis Buzukja and James Gonzalez compete at Ring of Combat on Oct. 22. Then, Sterling defends his title for the first time against Petr Yan at UFC 267 on Oct. 27 in Abu Dhabi, and Iaquinta returns to the octagon against Bobby Green on Nov. 6 for UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden. Nearly a dozen other up-and-coming fighters have bouts along the way as well. 
"We’re getting better and better as a team. We’re together and we always help and support each other," Dvalishvili said. "I’m just enjoying training and helping my teammates and see how successful they are. After my fight, I want to quickly come back and help Aljo and my other teammates." 
But first, Dvalishvili must tend to his own business in the UFC’s bantamweight division. 
"He earned his right for this fight. It’s a huge fight for him. Even though he’s 6-2, I think he’s 8-0," trainer Ray Longo said. "He’s right where he wants to be. This is going to be a good benchmark for him to see where he’s at."

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UFC 266 a tough but deserving test for Merab Dvalishvili against Marlon Moraes

UFC 266 a tough but deserving test for Merab Dvalishvili

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