UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili has provided insight into the approach he plans to take when sharing the cage with Umar Nurmagomedov this weekend.
Dvalishvili is days out from his first title defense at UFC 311, which comes four months on from his capturing of the crown at the expense of Sean O’Malley last September.
On that occasion, the Georgian utilized his smothering grappling game to get the better of “Suga” across five rounds. But with his undefeated Dagestani opponent boasting a renowned wrestling ability, the champ may not be able to repeat the feat come fight night this Saturday.
That much was acknowledged by Dvalishvili during a recent appearance on Michael Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast, as he outlined plans to defeat Nurmagomedov via the striking realm inside Inglewood’s Intuit Dome.
“I’m ready for striking. I’m not looking to take him down, control him, and lay on top like (Sean) O’Malley,” Dvalishvili said. “I’m going to punch his face, kick his legs, keep (the fight) on the feet, and I’m going to show a good fight. It’s going to be a great fight. A lot of scrapping, a lot of exchanges. I believe it’s going to be Fight of the Night or something.”
Dvalishvili initially pushed back on Nurmagomedov’s top contender status, instead pitching a number of other matchups for his first defense in the weeks and months after his title win inside the Sphere.
Nevertheless, the unbeaten Russian will be the first test to his reign, and “The Machine” has vowed to make a statement with his performance in Los Angeles.
