Aljamain Sterling thinks Merab Dvalishvili will retain his bantamweight title against Umar Nurmagomedov.
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Dvalishvili will defend his strap against Nurmagomedov in the co-main event at UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Many expect Nurmagomedov to pose the biggest threat to Dvalishvili so far with his strong wrestling base and well-rounded skillset. However, Sterling believes fans are overestimating the level of competition from Nurmagomedov, at least in terms of the wrestling.Nurmagomedov’s most high-caliber win so far came against Cory Sandhagen, who was able to defend the Dagestani’s takedown attempts multiple times. Based on that fight, Sterling doesn’t see Nurmagomedov posing a threat to Dvalishvili, who also comes from a grappling background.
“I mean if Cory Sandhagen could get ready, a guy who’s not coming from a grappling background at all – what do you think Merab is gonna do?” Sterling said on h…