LAS VEGAS – Levan Chokheli met the media Saturday after his win over Leon Shahbazyan at UFC Fight Night 279.
Chokheli (15-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) came right after Shahbazyan (12-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the prelims at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. He landed an early leg kick that hurt Shahbazyan, then a combo, then body shots to put him away. The quick finish came with former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili working his corner.
Advertisement
Chokheli’s finish came in just 23 seconds in his UFC debut. The Bellator vet was a 4-1 betting favorite against Shahbazyan, the older brother of longtime UFC fighter Edmen Shahbazyan, in their welterweight fight. And maybe the 23 seconds wasn’t planned, but the delivery method sure was, he said.
“I was working on this combination the last couple weeks. That’s what I was doing. You saw my knockout, right? This calf kick, 1-2 and overhand to the body – that’s what I was working for,” Chokheli told MMA Junkie and other reporters at his post-fight news conference.
“… I’m Georgian. My wrestling is good, but I would rather stay on the feet and throw my hands. But in the future, the welterweight division is the toughest one. There are a lot of good jiu-jitsu guys and good wrestlers. When I face them, it will be time to show you my wrestling skills and my jiu-jitsu skills. But today was today. What I did was the game plan – nothing else.”
With his first UFC win under his belt, and with virtually no damage taken, Chokheli said he’ll be looking for a fast return. He also wants a fast rise up the rankings at welterweight.
Advertisement
Chokheli, who has 80 percent of his wins by knockout, fought seven times under the Bellator banner. And though the first nine wins ov his career were first-round knockouts, including seven in less than a minute, they obviously weren’t against the level of competition he’ll face in the UFC. But that’s why he thinks his Bellator fights will play a factor.
“I think it gave me an advantage (in my UFC debut) because I was fighting there with monsters, former UFC fighters (like Sabah Homasi and Lorenz Larkin),” Chokheli said. “Now I’m 29 years old and I have a lot of fights behind me. I think now I’m getting into my prime. I don’t need more experience. I’m almost 30 years old.
“I need fights. I don’t need fights to keep my record up or build me up. I need tough fights now to get a title fight as soon as possible.”
Check out Chokheli’s post-fight interview in the video above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Levan Chokheli: Bellator experience, 23-second UFC KO mean I’m title-ready
