Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC 278, we are going to see a potential title eliminator in the bantamweight division. Former featherweight king Jose Aldo (31-7) returns tomorrow night as he takes on the surging Merab Dvalishvili (14-4).
For Aldo, he’s looking to get one more crack at UFC gold. The former featherweight champion is riding a huge wave of momentum entering tomorrow night. Aldo has won three straight against the likes of Chito Vera, Pedro Munhoz, and Rob Font.
Given the layout of the bantamweight division, there’s no question that Aldo would earn a shot with a win. That being said, winning isn’t going to be an easy thing taking on Merab Dvalishvili.
Things started out rough for Merab Dvalishvili inside the octagon. He lost back-to-back fights which made Dana White question whether or not he made the right decision to give Dvalishvili a shot after seeing him on Lookin’ for a Fight.
However, Dvalishvili turned things around in a big way. After losing those two bouts, he hasn’t lost since. Dvalishvili has won seven fights in a row leading to tomorrow night. That being said, nobody in those seven fights is on the level of Jose Aldo.
UFC 278 Prediction
In thinking about this matchup, I’m thinking a lot about Dvalishvili’s last win. His last win came against Marlon Moraes, and yes, Dvalishvili got the TKO win in that fight. However, he was hurt badly by Moraes and looked like he was going to get finished.
Had Moraes not completely gassed, it was hard for me to see Dvalishvili winning that fight. We know what Dvalishvili is going to try and do at UFC 278. He’s going to try and fight with a ton of pressure and he’s going to look for takedowns.
However, I think he’s going to have a ton of issues in the first couple of rounds. Aldo is going to be razor sharp early and I think he’s going to absolutely piece up Dvalishvili on the feet. The question is whether or not Dvalishvili will survive that early onslaught.
I actually think he will. Dvalishvili will be able to survive and he will close strong in the third round. However, I think he’ll be in such a hole from the damage he takes in the first two rounds that he’d need a finish. That ain’t happening. Jose Aldo is getting the win tomorrow and earning another shot at UFC gold.
Prediction: Jose Aldo by Decision