Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili being targeted for UFC 278
We’ve just been informed of a stellar bantamweight match up intended to go down at UFC 278, as former multi-time WEC & UFC featherweight champion, no. 3 ranked Jose Aldo aims to take out no. 6 ranked former ROC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili.
This bout isn’t quite yet a done deal, but it’s the direction the UFC is looking to head in, per Ariel Helwani.
UFC 278 is to go down on August 20, 2022, live from the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is to be headlined by UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who aims to make the sixth-straight defense of his title in a rematch with no. 2 ranked Leon Edwards.
Should this bantamweight clash go down between Aldo and Dvalishvili, it’ll be the biggest fight of the 31 year old Georgian’s career.
Dvalishvili lost to future Bellator prospect Ricky Bandejas in his third professional fight, bringing his record to 1-2, before he went on a six-fight win streak.
Those latter three victories came over the likes of future, and current fellow UFC bantamweight talent Tony Gravely (SD), Sukhrob Aydarbekov (armbar) to capture the ROC bantamweight championship, and current interim Bellator bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots (KO) to defend his title, finishing him off in just 15 seconds with a spinning back fist.
Stots hasn’t lost since, as he’s now 18-1 as a professional, and he just KO’d former Bellator champion, 25-3 Juan Archuleta to claim the interim title in April.
Dvalishvili on the other hand would lose his next two-straight bouts, both with some controversy as well.
Making his UFC debut against Frankie Saenz, Dvalishvili secured 11 takedowns; Saenz, who’s an NCAA Division I wrestler, secured zero, and Dvalishvili out-struck Saenz 104-66 in total strikes.
But, he’d lose the fight via split decision, before being matched up with Ricky Simon, another stud wrestler.
Simon, who was 12-1, coming off back-to-back LFA championship victories, made his promotional debut opposing Dvalishvili, and got a pretty favorable outcome once the contest was over.
After being taken down six times, only taking Dvalishvili down twice himself, and being out-struck 82-38 by the Georgian, Simon locked up a guillotine choke and controversially secured the finish at 5:00 of the third and final round.
Dvalishvili, though performing very dominantly, fell from 7-2 to 7-4 through his first two UFC bouts.
Many believed he should’ve been 9-2 after those two fights, or at least 8-3. He couldn’t have been much more dominant. Nonetheless, he hasn’t lost since, winning his last seven-straight, finishing off with a TKO victory over former multi-time WSOF bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes.
Dvalishvili holds so many different records, and in less than ten promotional fights. He fought good competition prior to coming over as well. But, Jose Aldo is a completely different animal.
After starting out his career with a record of 25-1 as a 10-time world champion in the WEC & UFC, Aldo has certainly taken some L’s over the last several years. But, following a 3-5 run since losing the belt, he’s won his last three-straight over the likes of Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz, and Rob Font, all via unanimous decision.
Aldo used to be one of the most dangerous strikers in the entire sport, and he still is, but he’s content to win fights on the cards these days, while Dvalishvili generally wins on points too. He has so many 10-8 rounds throughout his UFC tenure, and six of his seven promotional victories went the distance.
There is one thing to be said of this Georgian talent though, he doesn’t get tired, ever. Aldo has had a tendency to over the years, though he looked great throughout his last fight with Font, which was a five round encounter.
Should this fight be signed, who do you see coming out on top?
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