"You just want to see $ signs" - UFC insider backs Merab Dvalishvili’s coach’s call for Alexandre Pantoja "superfight"

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has wins over the top three-ranked contenders in the division. Moreover, the fourth, fifth, and sixth-ranked contenders are coming off losses.

With the current scenario in mind, Dvalishvili's coach Ray Longo posed an interesting name to challenge the Georgian - Alexandre Pantoja, the flyweight champion.

Longo pitched Pantoja as an opponent during his appearance on episode 538 of the Anik and Florian podcast. Jon Anik, the UFC play-by-play commentator, and ex-fighter Florian backed the idea.

Interestingly, it was Anik who pressured Longo for an answer, quipping:

What do you wanna see? What do you wanna see? You just want to see $ signs and an O'Malley rematch."

Longo replied:

"I'd like to see Merab against Pantoja. I think Pantoja should come up and fight him...It's a superfight. I like to see those fights where guys come up and they get a title shot."

The Queens native clarified that Cory Sandhagen is also a viable bantamweight contender but needs a win or two to challenge for the title. As such, Pantoja moving up could make sense.

Check out the conversation between Jon Anik and Ray Longo below (52:58):

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Veteran MMA coach compares Merab Dvalishvili to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Veteran MMA coach Firas Zahabi, best known for his tutelage of Georges St-Pierre, recently compared Merab Dvalishvili's cardio to that of Floyd Mayweather Jr., the former undefeated professional boxer.

Zahabi noted even people caught using performance-enhancing drugs do not have the same cardio as Dvalishvili or Mayweather. The 45-year-old clarified that both don't use PEDs, with their insane cardio instead being genetic.

As such he believes copying the workouts of Dvalishvili won't help others to achieve the same level.

Zahabi said:

"His [Dvalishvili's] conditioning is just unreal. You know, I've seen guys get caught on drugs and EPO didn't have cardio like him. I'm not saying he's on EPO, I'm just saying like even if you are on EPO, you just don't have that level of cardio.There's only one other guy I've ever seen with cardio like that, and I’ll tell you it's Mayweather. When he sits on the stool, he doesn't even breathe. And I'm not saying any of these guys are doping."

He added:

"I don't think Mayweather dopes at all, or that Merab is doping. I'm just saying like it's genetic, okay? You can go and do their workout, you can try to copy them, it's useless. It's totally useless. It’s got to be genetic. It's got to be genetic. It can't be this guy doing a secret formula. That would blow my mind. That would really shock me. No, it's genetic, just like the length of your arm is genetic, just like your reflexes are also partly genetic."

Check out Firas Zahabi's comments about Merab Dvalishvili below [0:48]: