Merab Dvalishvili's never-die attitude beats Sean O'Malley

Alexander Volkanovski believes that Merab Dvalishvili can only lose to UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley if he gets caught.

Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) challenges O'Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC 306 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) on Saturday at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Volkanovski believes Dvalishvili's relentless pace and endurance will help him overcome O'Malley's precision and power.

“Will he (Dvalishvili) be vulnerable to strikes? Yes, I think so,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I think Sean O'Malley's eye is incredible. His movement will make it a little bit difficult, but his relentless takedown pressure or his pressure on takedowns, I think he'll get there eventually unless he gets knocked out.”

“I don't care how good your footwork is, you won't be able to keep Merab away from you unless you turn off his lights. That's the only way you can avoid being defeated.”

Volkanovski sees something of himself in Dvalishvili. Volkanovski just lost to Ilia Topuria by knockout at UFC 298, but doesn't see himself in a situation where he would be outmatched during a fight. He won Round 1 against Topuria on all three judges' scorecards before getting caught in Round 2.

“I always have a hard time betting against guys like Merab,” Volkanovski said. “I think he's like me and a lot of other fighters out there that just have a never-give-up attitude, that just keep going and pushing and pushing, and that's just too much for people to handle.”

“With someone like Merab, the only way I can see him losing is if he gets knocked out, and that's how I've always seen myself. …It's hard to bet against guys like Merab, but Sean O'Malley has such a good eye. I think I have to bet on Merab.”

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.