Merab Dvalishvili UFC: PFL Fighter If Not Champion
Merab Dvalishvili Credits Aljamain Sterling for His UFC Success, Jokes He Might Be in PFL Without Him
Merab Dvalishvili, the current UFC Bantamweight Champion, has revealed the significant impact his teammate and friend, Aljamain Sterling, has had on his career. Ahead of his upcoming fight against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320, Dvalishvili admitted he might not be where he is today without Sterling’s influence.
Dvalishvili, currently on a 13-fight win streak with two title defenses, stated on Daniel Cormier’s youtube channel that he could potentially be fighting in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) if not for Sterling.He explained that having a successful UFC fighter like Sterling in his gym provided inspiration and a tangible example of what was possible.
“When you have a UFC fighter in your gym, real UFC fighter, you can look up to him and then you see, oh, this guy do it. I can do it too.You see he’s working hard. It’s just an example,” Dvalishvili said. He drew a parallel to Cain Velasquez’s championship win inspiring the fighters at AKA (American Kickboxing Academy).
Sterling, a highly accomplished bantamweight fighter himself, arrived in the UFC three years before Dvalishvili and holds the record for most title defenses in the division. the two have a longstanding agreement not to fight each other out of respect for their friendship.
Former champion TJ Dillashaw has also expressed interest in seeing the two friends compete against each other, despite their repeated statements against it.
