SALT LAKE CITY – Merab Dvalishvili left very little doubt about whether he wants to fight a friend and teammate for a title.
Dvalishvili (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) was fairly dominant in a unanimous decision win over former featherweight champion Jose Aldo (31-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) at UFC 278 on Saturday. It kept him toward the top of contenders for a bantamweight title shot down the road.
But the bantamweight belt currently is held by Aljamain Sterling (21-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC), who happens to be one of Dvalishvili’s teammates and good friends at the Serra-Longo Fight Team gym on Long Island in New York.