Merab Dvalishvili vs. Raoni Barcelos added to UFC Vegas 16

A fantastic matchup between surging bantamweights Merab Dvalishvili and Raoni Barcelos has been added to next month’s UFC Vegas 16 card.

MMAFighting.com first reported details of the matchup between Dvalishvili, the No. 12 ranked bantamweight in the UFC, and the unranked Barcelos, who will look to land a top-15 position in the rankings with a win. They will meet on December 5 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. These are two of the hottest fighters currently competing in the UFC’s 135lbs division and the winner of this contest will likely get a top-10 opponent next.

It should be noted that Dvalishvili was originally slated to fight Cody Stamann on this card, so Barcelos is the one taking it on short notice, though he just recently fought.

Dvalishvili (12-4) is currently riding a five-fight win streak that has seen him collect victories over John Dodson, Gustavo Lopez, Casey Kenney, Brad Katona, and Terrion Ware after losing to Ricky Simon and Frankie Saenz in his first two UFC fights. The 29-year-old native of Georgia has one of the most dominant wrestling games in the UFC these days as he is able to routinely take his opponents down at will and grind them out.

Barcelos (16-1) is surging up the bantamweight ranks, as the 33-year-old Brazilian has won his last nine fights in a row. Like Dvalishvili, he has won five fights in the Octagon as he is a perfect 5-0 in the UFC with wins over Khalid Taha, Said Nurmagomedov, Carlos Huachin, Chris Guttierez, and Kurt Holobaugh. Barcelos actually hasn’t lost since 2014 in the RFA, so he has been quietly flying under the radar at 135lbs. In his last fight, Barcelos took home a 50k bonus for “Fight of the Night” for his war against Taha.

Who do you think wins, Merab Dvalishvili or Raoni Barcelos?