Alexandre Pantoja doesn't believe Sean O'Malley stands a chance against Merab Dvalishvili and recently explained why the Montana native would always come up short against the reigning UFC bantamweight champion.
Dvalishvili and O'Malley have shared the cage twice, with 'The Machine' coming out on top both times. Dvalishvili beat O'Malley via unanimous decision at UFC 306 last September to win the bantamweight title and then defeated 'Suga' again in their rematch at UFC 316 via third-round submission.
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Pantoja heaped praise on Dvalishvili and explained why he didn't see O'Malley ever getting a win over the Georgian fighter. He said:
"I'm a huge fan [of Merab]. Seeing Merab happy makes me happy, you know? Because of his hard work. I love to see hard-working people win in life because I did the same. That's why O'Malley is never gonna win against Merab. O'Malley is a very good fighter, I know that... But O'Malley chose to be a fighter, Merab was born to fight. He can fight ten times, and Merab's gonna win ten times."
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Alexandre Pantoja outlines conditions to fight Merab Dvalishvili at bantamweight
While Alexandre Pantoja has immense love and respect for Merab Dvalishvili, he's open to fighting the UFC bantamweight king on one condition. The Brazilian recently claimed that the UFC could convince him to fight Dvalishvili with a big money offer.
In the same interview with Ariel Helwani, Pantoja outlined his conditions for a super fight deal and said:
"Money talks. I want to hear money talk with me. If UFC want to do something... make it a BMF [title fight] and make it 130 pounds. Me, Merab, why not? UFC can do whatever UFC wants, you know?... I'm the 125-pound champion, you know? I need to defend in my division."