Alexander Volkanovski believes Merab Dvalishvili’s only chance of losing to UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is to get caught.

Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) challenges O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC 306 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) on Saturday from Sphere in Las Vegas.

Volkanovski believes Dvalishvili’s relentless pace and stamina will help him overcome O’Malley’s precision and power.

“Will he (Dvalishvili) be open for a punch? Yeah, I think so,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I think Sean O’Malley’s eye is incredible. His movement is going to make it a little bit difficult, but his relentless takedown pressure, or his pressure on takedowns, I think he’s going to get it eventually, unless he gets knocked out.

“I don’t care how good your footwork is, you’re not going to keep Merab away from you unless you turn his lights out. That’s the only way you’re not going to get taken down.”

Volkanovski sees a bit of himself in Dvalishvili. Volkanovski is coming off a knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, but never sees himself in a situation where he would be outclassed in a fight. He won round 1 against Topuria on all three judges’ scorecards before getting caught in round 2.

“It’s always hard for me to bet against guys like Merab,” Volkanovski said. “I think he’s like me and a lot of other fighters who just never die, never give up, they’re just there constantly and just keep grinding, grinding, and that’s just too much for people.

“Someone like Merab, the only way I see him losing is by knockout and that’s how I’ve always seen myself. … Guys like Merab are hard to bet against, but Sean O’Malley has such a good eye. I think I’ll go with Merab.”

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s UFC 306 event hub.