Outside Source
Pantoja (30-5) is scheduled to defend his flyweight title against Joshua Van (15-2) at UFC 323 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Having already defended his title thrice so far, Pantoja will essentially have cleaned out the division if he beats Van.
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While champions usually consider moving up in such scenarios, Pantoja is wary of the champion at bantamweight. Pantoja considers Dvalishvili among the Top 3 pound-for-pound fighters in the world. “The Cannibal” also notes that a 10-pound difference is huge between the 125-pound and 135-pound divisions. However, Pantoja would probably consider moving up if Sean O’Malley were still champion.
Plenty of Respect
“I think Merab is one of the best fighters in the world, you know, 100%,” Pantoja told TMZ Sports. “He’s the No. 3 pound-for-pound, maybe No. 2. Merab is a tough opponent for everybody in his division. It’s not easy to think about going 10 pounds over and thinking you can finish someone like Merab, you know? When you talk about 10 pounds to my division, flyweight to the bantamweight, it’s a huge comparison… Merab is one of the best, you know, one of the pound-for-pound. I think if O’Malley got the belt, I’m going to say, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go.’ But with Merab, it’s different.”
Dvalishvili (21-4) has defended his title thrice this year since winning it against O’Malley last year. “The Machine” will put his title on the line a fourth time in a rematch against Petr Yan (19-5) at UFC 323.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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