Jose Aldo Vs Merab Dvalishvili Being Targeted For UFC 278

UFC bantamweight contenders José Aldo and Merab Dvalishvili are in talks to face off at UFC 278 on August 20 at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The news was first reported on by Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting, although the promotion has yet to officially confirm the booking themselves.

Aldo is currently ranked at No. 3 in the official 135-pound UFC rankings. He has gotten three wins in a row and could be in line for a title shot soon.

He has been calling to fight champion Aljamain Sterling, however, with this potential fight against Dvalishvili, it is possible that another man could be getting that title shot. Although, there is also a chance that the winner of this UFC 278 bout could be the next one in line for Sterling.

Dvalishvili is on a seven-fight winning streak. His most recent win came over Marlon Moraes back in September of last year.

He is a good friend of Sterling, and has mentioned not wanting to fight him in the past. Sterling has even mentioned making a move to featherweight to make room for his friend if that situation were to arise.

However, a win over Aldo means he could be directly in title contention.