Bellator's Raufeon Stots talks UFC success of former opponent Merab Dvalishvili (Exclusive)

Raufeon Stots is still hurting over his loss to Merab Dvalishvili and hopes he can get a chance to redeem himself someday. Ahead of his title fight at Bellator 295 against Patchy Mix on April 22, the promotion's interim bantamweight champion recently weighed in on Dvalishvili's success in the UFC.

Dvalishvili recently put on a clinic against former bantamweight champion and No.2-ranked contender Petr Yan at UFC Fight Night 221 and is on an impressive nine-fight win streak since his first two losses in the promotion.

Dvalishvili notably handed Stots the only loss of his career via a first-round KO at Ring of Combat 59 in 2017.

In an exclusive interview with James Lynch of Sportskeeda MMA, Raufeon Stots opened up about his loss to Merab Dvalishvili. While Stots acknowledged the Georgian's success in the UFC, the Bellator fighter stated that his lone loss against 'The Machine' still stings:

"It definitely ages well. I'm always going to have that bitter taste in my mouth because I know there are things I could've done better, and I would've done better had I had the chance, and I know what I know now... I will always want to get that fight back..."

Stots continued:

"I don't wish any ill-will towards Merab Dvalishvili. I hope he continues to do well. I think it's pretty cool that he's ascended to the level he's ascended and that speaks to the level I'm at."

Watch the full exclusive interview below:

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Raufeon Stots predicts upcoming UFC bantamweight title fight

In the same interview, Raufeon Stots weighed in on the upcoming bantamweight title between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 on May 6.

'Triple C' will make his long-awaited return to the octagon after announcing his retirement in May 2020, and the former bantamweight champion will aim to regain the title he never lost in the octagon. However, 'Supa' questioned how Cejudo's time away from action would affect him against Sterling.

Speaking to James Lynch for Sportskeeda MMA, Stots backed the reigning UFC bantamweight champion to retain his title. Acknowledging Cejudo's abilities as a fighter, Stots said:

"That's a tough fight. I feel like I got Aljamain Sterling. Cejudo's done amazing things, he's an amazing wrestler and an amazing talent, but I don't know... He ain't a spring chicken, so I'm going with Aljamain."

Interestingly, Henry Cejudo called on Merab Dvalishvili to weigh in as the official backup fighter for UFC 288 in an effort to play mind games on the two Serra-Longo training partners. Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling have previously stated that they will not face one another in the octagon.