TJ Dillashaw is baffled that Merab Dvalishvili still hasn’t added one key skill to his game.

Both men are part of the conversation over who is the greatest bantamweight in UFC history, but Dvalishvili missed out on the chance to boost his claim in October.

In his first since losing the title at 135 pounds, Dvalishvili fell short against Petr Yan in their trilogy fight at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi.

‘No Mercy’ looks to have the Georgian star’s number after consecutive victories over him, but Dillashaw insists there was a path to victory for Dvalishvili on October 24.

TJ Dillashaw doesn’t understand why Merab Dvalishvili hasn’t learned to set up strikes with his takedowns

As was the case at UFC 323 last December, Dvalishvili enjoyed a strong start against Yan a couple of weeks ago, using his relentless pressure to win the opening two rounds.

The Georgian’s strategy was clear, as he broke the record for attempted takedowns in a single UFC fight with 58.

When that approach became less effective, Dvalishvili was unable to stop Yan from taking over at the Etihad Arena.

During a recent episode of the JAXXON PODCAST, former champ Dillashaw said there is one way ‘The Machine’ could have gotten the better of Yan in their second and third meetings.

“The only thing is that Merab doesn’t have another way to beat Yan,” Dillashaw said.

“The way he can slow him down from throwing punches is by shooting a shot. The way that he can score points is by getting a takedown. He’s not going to outstrike Yan unless – which, I don’t understand why he has not done this – he does a great job using his hands to get takedowns.

“He gets you to believe in your hands and he shoots a shot. He’s the best in the world at getting on the legs. He’s a f—— nightmare to fight. But imagine if he is now using his takedowns to set up his strikes. “Why is that not part of his f—— game?

“He would be even more of a nightmare if he’s like faking a shot,” Dillashaw continued. “You saw how much Yan would have to f—— sprawl. Get him to sprawl and then fire off. Bring the knee up the middle, bring in kicks, setting up your combos off your shots.

“If he was able to do that, he could have won this fight.”

Why Merab Dvalishvili needs to make his striking more dangerous

Only five of Dvalishvili’s 58 takedown attempts were successful at UFC 333, giving him a completion rate of just 8.6 percent.

Yan’s corner repeatedly reminded him that Dvalishvili was struggling to keep him down. Despite the Georgian maintaining a high output on the feet, the champion was considerably more accurate with his strikes and became increasingly comfortable letting his hands go as the fight went on.

This is where Dillashaw’s criticism carries the most weight. Dvalishvili doesn’t necessarily need to become a better conventional striker, but he does need to make opponents pay for anticipating his takedowns.

If Yan had to worry about knees, kicks and combinations whenever Dvalishvili threatened a shot, defending the wrestling would have become a much more complicated proposition.

It remains to be seen whether Dvalishvili will end up getting another opportunity to repeat his 2022 triumph over Yan down the line.

For now, the Georgian will need to focus on rebounding against a fellow contender to ensure his name does not slip too far away from the bantamweight title picture.