Bryce Mitchell believes he is the man to defeat UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili

UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell believes he has what it takes to defeat Merab Dvalishvili after his move down to bantamweight.

This weekend, Bryce Mitchell makes his way down to 135 pounds at UFC Abu Dhabi. He will face off against Said Nurmagomedov, in what is bound to be a tough first assignment for him. With that being said, ‘Thug Nasty’ seems pretty confident that he’ll be able to make magic happen in his new home at bantamweight.

RELATED: Report: Controversial UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell set for bantamweight debut

Mitchell has been through his fair share of ups and downs over the years, including three losses in recent times – all via defeats. Now, he’s decided to test himself away from featherweight, in what could prove to be a really interesting move for him.

In a recent interview, Mitchell made it clear that he believes he is capable of dethroning the division’s reigning champion Merab Dvalishvili.

Mitchell believes he can defeat Dvalishvili

“I think it needs to be spiced up a little bit,” Mitchell told MMA Junkie of the bantamweight division. “It just needs somebody like me in there to shake things up, and I can almost promise you I’m going to shake things up. … They need something exciting right now because let’s be honest: Nobody’s going to beat Merab. Who’s going to beat Merab? You’re going to have to call somebody that can beat him because right now literally nobody can beat Merab. So they’re going to realize that they need a guy like me. Here I am. Call me!”

“Cory’s going to lose, and that’s what’s going to happen,” Mitchell said. “And you can watch the fight just to watch Cory get beat, but he’s not going to win. Nobody’s going to beat Merab unless they call somebody who knows how to. I love Merab, Merab’s actually a great friend of mine, and I can promise you he’s going to beat Cory. It’s boring! Nobody wants to watch him win and not fight. Everybody wants to see a fight, and I’m telling you, I’m bringing a fight to this division.

“It’s going to shake things up. It’s actually going to get people interested in this division again because once again, nobody wants to watch Merab win easily. … I’ve got the only resume that can even possibly compete with him. All these other fights, I mean I guess it’ll be a little bit entertaining because you get to see how Merab wins, but it’s not going to be a fight. Cory Sandhagen’s going to be fighting for air.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie