Former UFC flyweight champion Aljamain Serling explained why his friend and newly crowned titleholder Merab Dvalishvili wants to make his first defense against Deiveson Figueredo.
"I don't know who the UFC would rather give the title shot to. I know Merab would rather fight Figueredo based on his past accomplishments. Merab's logic is hard to argue with. And I understand that Umar beat Sandhagen, who was going for second in the division.
You can argue about who deserves to fight the champion more. But a champion's opinion should be worth something! O'Malley made his first defense against a guy who was outside the top 5. I don't think this is such a weird or crazy request from Merab. No one can say Figueredo doesn't deserve to fight for the belt. Hopefully Merab's opinion will be listened to," Sterling told Submission Radio.
Dvalishvili defeated Sean O'Malley by unanimous decision last weekend at UFC 306 in Las Vegas, USA.
