MMA
Aljamain Sterling talks keys to helping Merab Dvalishvili defeat Sean O'Malley at UFC 306
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Aljamain Sterling suffered a second-round TKO loss at the hands of Sean O'Malley in August 2023.
Just over a year later, Merab Dvalishvili will have a chance to avenge his stablemate's defeat when he challenges for O'Malley's bantamweight world title in the headliner of UFC 306 on September 14.
While appearing on Verse Us with Eric Nicksick recently, Sterling gave MMA fans an inside look at how Dvalishvili's camp is going and how they're training to simulate for what O'Malley will bring in the Octagon.
"The pacing that this guy brings is just phenomenal," Sterling said about what he's seen from Dvalishvili in camp thus far. "In between rounds, I'm trying to give the guys that he's going with like feedback for them to do certain things that are very O'Malley-like because I know how good O'Malley is.
"It's still skill that we have to go out there and beat," Sterling maintained. "The hype is the hype but the skill is still something that we still need to overcome. So I'm making sure these guys are giving him the right looks so he can properly prepare, see these things that Sean does that I know firsthand. I'm giving him my tips."
He added: "I'm like 'Bro, you could fight him the same way I did in the first round and not take any damage because O'Malley is not an offensive guy to go forward. He's a counter striker first.'"
Dvalishvili defeating O'Malley would have him joining Sterling, Chris Weidman and Matt Serra as world champions out of the same Long Island, New York gym. It'd also spell heavy significance for Dvalishvili's native Georgia.
Sterling vows that Dvalishvili is primed for the task.
"We're going to be prepared," Sterling insisted, "so I'm very excited for that for Merab."
He added: "I told him like 'bro, everything you worked for in a few weeks ... we just have to be smart, we can't get emotional, we have to be dialed in and you will make your dreams a reality."'
After losing his first two fights in the UFC, Dvalishvili has rattled off 10 straight wins to earn this title shot.
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