John Wooden argues that Merab Dvalishvili might separate himself with a win at UFC 311.
Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) defends his bantamweight title towards Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) within the Jan. 18 co-main occasion from Inglewood, Calif. (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
With wins over the likes of former champions Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, Jose Aldo, and Sean O’Malley already on his resume, Wooden says beating Nurmagomedov would make Dvalishvili the best bantamweight of all time.
“(If) Merab goes out and beats Umar, which I consider he’ll, I believe there’s no query that he’s the bantamweight GOAT,” Wooden instructed Inside Combating. “And had all these guys that he beat been title defenses, it’s not even a query now. So I believe we’re trying on the subsequent bantamweight GOAT right here shortly.”
Dvalishvili is adamant that Nurmagomedov doesn’t deserve a title shot and has been fairly riled up within the lead-up to the struggle. Wooden admits Dvalishvili is an emotional man however assures that he’s honed in.
“He was motivated and emotional by Petr Yan,” Wooden stated. “He was motivated and emotional with Henry Cejudo at one level. He was motivated and emotional with O’Malley, so it’s no completely different. That’s a part of the method that we get into. He doesn’t need to hate anyone or be no matter to be motivated, but it surely’s a part of the method.
“He will get into the struggle. He’s there to struggle, he’s there to go on the market and do battle with the individual throughout the cage. This one, there’s been slightly extra emotion to it so far as he feels slightly disrespected that he’s the champion, and that there’s loads of debate on whether or not Umar deserves the title shot.”
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