Dominick Cruz says Sean O'Malley has advantage over Merab Dvalishvili: "It's a good stylistic matchup for O'Malley"

Dominick Cruz recently weighed in on the upcoming UFC bantamweight title bout between Merab Dvalishvili and champion Sean O'Malley. Despite the perception regarding the Georgian's wrestling, the 39-year-old believes that the champion has an advantage.

The bantamweight title clash hasn't been officially announced, however, it has been reported to be taking place at UFC 306, which will be held at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Cruz hasn't fought O'Malley or Dvalishvili, but he has highlighted certain areas that he believes could be exploited when they share the octagon.

During his appearance on Anik & Florian Podcast, the former UFC and WEC bantamweight champion believes that 'Suga' will have success with his striking. Cruz recalled Dvalishvili's most recent performance as an example of why he believes O'Malley has the advantage. He said:

"I expect he's [Dvalishvili] gonna get hit. The question is how is he gonna close the distance? That's why this is a good fight for O'Malley, is the distance and the stance switches and the footwork...Stylistically, you got a short guy who wants to wrestle and we know for a fact doesn't want to stand up...It's not what he wants to do. It's not where he's comfortable, so the fight starts standing. That's where I see it's a good stylistic matchup for O'Malley." [6:25 - 7:01]

Check out the full episode of Anik & Florian below:

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Dominick Cruz believes Sean O'Malley will be prepared for Merab Dvalishvili's grappling

Dominick Cruz believes that Sean O'Malley will be prepared for Merab Dvalishvili's grappling whenever they step inside the octagon for their bantamweight title clash.

It's no secret that Dvalishvili will be looking to utilize his wrestling and grappling to dictate the fight, but it doesn't appear as though Cruz believes it will affect the champion. 'Suga' has challenged himself in grappling matches and made improvements, which shows that he has become more of a complete well-rounded fighter.

During the aforementioned appearance, Cruz shed light on O'Malley's training and development with his grappling and answered whether he could nullify Dvalishvili's strength. He said:

"That's the part I think if you go back and you watch O'Malley...He's been in and forced himself into these tough situations." [7:20 - 7:27]

Check out Sean O'Malley grappling Takanori Gomi below: