SALT LAKE CITY – Despite picking up arguably the biggest win of his career, Merab Dvalishvili left the cage with mixed feelings.
Bantamweight contender Dvalishvili (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) beat former UFC and WEC champion Jose Aldo (31-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) on the UFC 278 main card Saturday with a unanimous decision.
And though it was a big win for his resume, Dvalishvili is not too content with his showing.
“Yes and no, (I’m satisfied),” Dvalishvili told reporters at the UFC 278 post-fight interview when asked about his performance. “Of course, I wanted a more exciting fight and I wanted to take him down. But he was good, and it was hard to time him and take him down.
“Against the cage, he was good. He was defending my takedown good. Also, I didn’t want to spend too much energy because I wanted to be ready for a strike. But this is the fight game. I kept it against the wall, and I was winning the fight comfortable. It’s his job to move and do something because I was winning the fight.”
The win puts Dvalishvili on an impressive eight-fight winning streak. He’s considered one of the top contenders in the division. But despite his solid run, Dvalishvili says he’s not close to fighting for the title. His friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling holds the belt and a fight between the two is not on the table, according to Dvalishvili.
The 31-year-old still thinks there are good options for him in the weight class that do not involve him fighting Sterling for the belt.
“I believe there are so many fights left for me,” Dvalishvili said. “There are so many. Our division is the most exciting. There are so many young guys, former champions. Henry Cejudo is coming back. Actually, Aljo has to beat them – the former champions.
“Monday, I’ll be back in the gym helping Aljo. He helped me in this training camp in the gym, weight cut, everything. We have a big fight. Aljo is fighting for the title against a cheater, and we have to beat T.J. Dillashaw together.”
