The UFC is finalizing a fun matchup in the bantamweight division for the third time. MMA Junkie was first to report this afternoon that the promotion has verbal agreements in place for a bantamweight matchup between Cody Stamann (19-3-1) and Merab Dvalishvili (12-4).
The matchup will take place at the UFC‘s Fight Night on May 1st. As mentioned, this is the third time that the promotion has tried to pair Dvalishvili up with Stamann. However, the previous two matchups fell through.
Now, the UFC is hoping to finally put these two top fifteen bantamweights against each other. For Cody Stamann, he’s going to be trying to get back on the winning side of things. Stamann last fought on Fight Island against Jimmie Rivera.
That night, Stamann lost a decision. That loss put Stamann at 6-2-1 in his nine fights in the UFC. The only two men who have gotten the better of him have been Rivera and the current bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling.
Dvalishvili looks to continue UFC winning streak
Speaking of Aljamain Sterling, he’s one of the lead training partners for Merab Dvalishvili. Dvalishvili got off to a really rocky start in the UFC. The bantamweight from Georgia lost his first matchups inside the octagon.
However, that is when his career started turning around. Since September of 2018, Dvalishvili has won five consecutive fights including wins over Casey Kenney and former UFC title challenger and Ultimate Fighter winner, John Dodson.
Dvalishvili’s wrestling has made him a problem for all of the opponents that have stood in his way. He’s also been showing some improved striking in his last couple of matchups which make him even more dangerous.
This is going to be a fun matchup of grapplers. Usually when you see these kind of matchups in the UFC, you’ll see more striking because the grappling will cancel each other out. These guys are ranked 12th and 13th and I’m excited to finally see them square off inside the octagon.