Surging UFC bantamweight explains how he would beat champ Merab Dvalishvili: "My defense will be unbeatable"

Merab Dvalishvili was able to defend his bantamweight title for the first time last month as he defeated Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision at UFC 311. Despite 'The Machine's dominance in the division, which includes an active 12-fight winning streak, rising bantamweight contender Vinicius Oliveira believes he could beat the champ.

Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, the unranked bantamweight stated:

"First of all, I will put him on the ground to prove that I'm better than him. For sure. I'm totally sure about that. I will put him on the ground. Just to prove that I am better than him. Then, I will knock him down because it's my style. We can't run away from our style. I'm a striker, I'm a boxer, I'm a great boxer. I'm great at Muay Thai, but I have good wrestling, I have good jiu-jitsu."

Oliveira continued:

"My prediction for this fight because this fight will happen. He will not stand three rounds against me. He will get tired. He will get tired because everybody - I will pressure him. No one fights with pressure [against] him because all fighters who face Merab have been scared about his takedown and I'm not scared. So, I will pressure him all the time. All the time. And he will try to run away because he will not stand in front of me... When he tries to put me on the ground, my defense will be unbeatable."

Check out Vinicius Oliveira's comments on Merab Dvalishvili below:

Oliveira has been impressive in his brief UFC career, winning three bouts in less than 12 months. Despite this, he has a long way to go before competing for a title as he has yet to crack the bantamweight rankings.

Aljamain Sterling responds to fan claiming Merab Dvalishvili should not have won at UFC 311

Few people agreed with Umar Nurmagomedov's assertion that he did not think he lost his fight with Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311. Joe Rogan was among those who believed 'Young Eagle' won the bout, claiming he won the third round.

A fan recently tagged 'The Machine' and Aljamain Sterling in a post sharing the UFC commentator's remarks, with the caption:

"Listen to this @MerabDvalishvil @funkmasterMMA you guys lost because of bulls**t decision @UNmgdv clearly won the fight and the whole world knows it.. @AliAbdelaziz00 @akajav @TeamKhabib"

Sterling shared a brief response to the fan, claiming:

"Give it a rest. The right guy won. Life goes on"

Check out the X post from the fan and response from Aljamain Sterling below:

While the bout was closely contested, it became clear that Nurmagomedov slowed down as the fight progressed. Despite taking the first loss of his career, the No.3-ranked bantamweight remains in a position to quickly work his way back to a second title opportunity.