Many think Merab Dvalishvili has a very good chance against champion Sean O’Malley in their UFC Noche (306) main event title clash on September 14 at the iconic Shpere. After all, the #1 ranked bantamweight is perhaps the best wrestler in the division, going up against the sublime, out-of-this-world striking of ‘Suga’ whose ground game is conspicuous by its absence.

A classic striker vs. wrestler matchup that is as old as the sport itself, the fight will probably come down to who can impose their game-plan. On the feet, ‘Suga’ will almost definitely pick apart ‘The Machine’, while the script will be flipped with the Georgian having the clear advantage on the ground. However, the last man ‘Suga’ fought and the only one to beat him in the Octagon, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera has a dire warning for Dvalishvili.

“That’s an interesting fight because… people get confused because O’Malley is a funny guy. They think he’s not training but he is just as professional as most of us. And you know people think he just can throw one punch and he’s a great fighter. The thing with that is I would be more worried about Merab’s chin because he’s been dropped by everybody. And I mean if you get dropped by Cejudo, good Lord, that’s a 4-foot motherf***er right there . So I mean if he [O’Malley] catch him early, the fight can be over,” he said.

The former title contender felt that since ‘The Machine’ had been dropped by Henry Cejudo (who isn’t known for his striking anyways) at their UFC 298 clash a few months ago, which was preceded by a similar first-round knockdown at the hands of Marlon Moraes at UFC 266, it rightly raised questions about the challenger’s chin.

The champion also has the added advantage of being significantly tall for the division. He stands tall at 5’11” against a 5’6″ Dvalishvili. Yes, O’Malley is even taller than 5’9″ Conor McGregor. Strikers like them methodically pick apart wrestlers from range. If the shorter, stockier wrestler lunges in, they can counter with their power shots (Sterling KO is an example) and finish the fight.

And these disadvantages, of course, can be lethal against a sniper like ‘Suga’. This is, in fact, precisely what the champ has claimed he wants to do with ‘The Machine’.

Merab Dvalishvili brave enough to try and strike with Sean O’Malley to the champ’s delight

Sean O’Malley feels the Dvalishvili fight will go the way his Aljamain Sterling clash went. That is to say, he plans on knocking out ‘The Machine’ quick before the Georgian title contender even has the chance to really take him down, as he did to ‘Aljo’ in their UFC 292 clash.

Of course, Dvalishvili would be expected to go for a takedown as soon as possible, drag the champion to the ground, and try mauling the champ there. But, it seems ‘The Machine’ may be getting a bit too confident in his stand-up game for his own good, and has even claimed that he feels confident enough in his striking to not only stand and bang with the champ but also knock him out!

“Don’t be surprised, I may knock him out because he is very confident and I have some skills. I’m getting better and I’m training and I can knock out O’Malley, I believe so,” Dvalishvili said in a recent interview.

This, of course, is widely considered a very bad move for ‘The Machine’. After all, this is precisely what the champ would want Dvalishvili to do and is likely going to end horribly for ‘The Machine’. Or it might just be an empty boast that Davlishvili has no plans to follow up on in their UFC 306 clash. What are your predictions for O’Malley-Dvalishvili?