Marlon Moraes vs. Merab Dvalishvili in the Works for UFC 266

A bantamweight showdown pitting Marlon Moraes against Merab Dvalishvili has been targeted for UFC 266.

Dvalishvili’s coach, Ray Longo, first brought word of the matchup on the Anik and Florian podcast. UFC 266 takes place on Sept. 25 at an as yet to be announced location and is headlined by a light heavyweight title bout between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira.

A former 135-pound title challenger, Moraes has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the former WSOF champion suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Rob Font at UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19.

Dvalishvili has been on a roll, winning six consecutive UFC outings dating back to September 2018. “The Machine” is coming off a three-round verdict against Cody Stamann at UFC on ESPN 23 on May 1.

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— Anik & Florian Podcast (@AnikFlorianPod) June 15, 2021