Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is high on the striking of Sean O'Malley, and he thinks Merab Dvalishvili will be in trouble if he finds himself in front of it for too long.
The promotion stages its second annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day this weekend, with the unique Sphere venue in Las Vegas playing host to Noche UFC (UFC 306) on Sept. 14.
Two pieces of gold will be on the line, with O'Malley's second defense of the bantamweight title set to follow the trilogy fight between flyweight elites Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.
Not many main events this year have split opinions and predictions quite like O'Malley's upcoming showdown with Dvalishvili. And the latest to reveal which side of the fence they sit on is no stranger to the positions of both champion and challenger...
During a video recently uploaded to his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Adesanya broke down and predicted the major matchups set to unfold inside the Sphere on Saturday night.
"The Last Stylebender" paid close attention to the headliner, assessing how the champ will handle a smothering grappling style from the challenger that he branded similar to that of the great Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Despite high praise for Dvalishvili, however, Adesanya is backing O'Malley to find the knockout blow as the Georgian enters range in pursuit of a takedown.
Aljo (Aljamain Sterling) couldn't get him down, and Aljo trains with Merab. I'm sure Merab might get him down, but Sean will probably get back up. And if he (Dvalishvili) doesn't get him down, he's in trouble," Adesanya said. "Styles make fights. Merab's style is not Aljamain's style. When we trained together, he had a different pace, cardio, and different energy as well. ... Sean can fight. I've seen him in round four, round five look clean. But Merab is like, Khabib-esque. He's a mauler.
While Sean's finding his groove, Merab's gonna put it on him and just try to take him down. If he gets him down, it'll be just when Sean gets tired," Adesanya continued. "When you know someone is coming for a takedown constantly, you can find it, you can find the shot, and Sean can find the shot. ... Yeah, I'm gonna go Sean by TKO.
O'Malley will look to prove Adesanya's prediction correct come fight night in Las Vegas by sending Dvalishvili to the same fate as teammate Sterling fell to in August 2023.
In doing so, "Sugar" would move closer to his ultimate ambitions on MMA's biggest stage, which includes a shot at two-division glory up at featherweight and a place in the GOAT conversation.
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