LAS VEGAS – Merab Dvalishvili is confident he would run through Umar Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) challenges bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 306 headliner at Sphere (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+).
After his UFC on ABC 7 main event win over Cory Sandhagen in August, Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) was declared No. 1 contender by UFC CEO Dana White. In a matchup between two of the best grapplers at 135 pounds, Dvalishvili boldly said he’d have no issues with Nurmagomedov’s style.
“First, I have a tough opponent: Sean O’Malley,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 306 media day. “I’m focused on him. God willing after I win against him, whoever the UFC wants me to fight, I will fight.
“I never choose my next opponent. If Umar is my next opponent, that’s fine. Me and my team, we will work and we will train. That fight, I think it’s easy for me. That fight is no problem for me. I will dominate him.”
Dvalishvili made it clear on numerous occasions that he doesn’t think Nurmagomedov is a worthy title challenger after securing just one top five win. He’d rather fight former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, who has defeated Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt, and Marlon Vera since moving up to bantamweight.
“What excites me more: Deiveson Figueiredo,” Dvalishvili said. “He is a former champion, I already beat three former champions. Sean O’Malley is champion now. He will be my fourth champion, and if I fight Figueiredo that will be my fifth champion.
“That is my goal. Figueiredo has knockout power, he has good submissions, good ground game, lots of experience, he’s bigger than me. Also, he dominated former title challenger (Marlon) ‘Chito Vera’ – in an even more impressive way than Sean O’Malley.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.
