Merab Dvalishvili is expecting a strong performance from his teammate Aljamain Sterling, as the former UFC bantamweight champion gears up for his second outing as a featherweight.
Following the end of his reign at 135 pounds last year — and after having his calls for a rematch with Sean O’Malley fall on deaf ears — Sterling committed to a long-discussed move up in weight.
And he debuted at 145 pounds in convincing fashion, comfortably outpointing veteran ranked contender Calvin Kattar across three rounds at UFC 300 in Las Vegas this past April.
After arriving in the featherweight top 10, Sterling’s sophomore appearance in the division at UFC 310 will come against an undefeated contender inside the top five, Russia’s Movsar Evloev.
Although he’ll enter the cage as a sizable underdog on Dec. 7, Sterling’s team is unsurprisingly confident of an upset.
During a video recently uploaded to Sterling’s YouTube channel, Dvalishvili spoke about “Funk Master’s” upcoming return, having once again been a part of the 35-year-old’s training camp.
The reigning bantamweight kingpin admitted struggling to hang with the featherweight contender on the mats. And with that in mind, he foresees Sterling ‘smashing’ the undefeated Evloev.
“Aljo feels really strong,” Dvalishvili said. “Now he did a bunch of rounds of jiu-jitsu too. He did two rounds with me. I couldn’t do anything. He was on top of me, controlled me, smashed me. That means that Aljo is going to smash his opponent – even though his opponent is really good.
“I have so much respect for Movsar Evloev, but that’s how the fight game is. The stronger guy wins,” Dvalishvili continued. “I’m very comfortable with Aljo because he’s focused and he feels really strong.”
Sterling will hope to prove Dvalishvili’s assessment correct come fight night in “Sin City,” where he’ll look to move past his disappointment at being placed on the prelims and deliver a statement-making performance at the expense of Evloev.
And should he succeed in that goal, a shot at Ilia Topuria’s featherweight gold and two-division glory could await the New York native in 2025.
