Georgian welterweight Amiran Gogoladze returns to action at Oktagon 47 this weekend, looking for his second straight win and feeling vastly improved as a fighter.
Part of that is a renewed focus on cardio, he told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview. “You mentioned biking. If I was spending half an hour on a bike, now I’m spending one hour on a bike,” said Gogoladze (15-3), explaining how he has doubled down in training camp.
“Now I’m dedicated to my cardio. There were many changes in my training. Now I’m getting ready not for a three round fight, but also a five round fight because it’s getting close and closer. This training is helping me a lot.”
Gogoladze is another promising talent coming out of Georgia, alongside the likes of Merab Dvalishvili, Roman Dolidze, Ilia Topuria, Giga Chikadze, and Levan Chokheli. That’s a source of inspiration for the 25-year old.
“It gives me so much motivation, watching those guys, especially Levan last week, to see how he succeeded in the fight, to see his timing, and his striking,” said Gogoladze. Chokheli picked up a win over Sabah Homasi care of a vicious front kick at Bellator 299 in Dublin, Ireland in late September. “I was so excited for him, to see this kind of finish in the fight.”
It’s not just inspiration, but technique that Amiran Gogoladze takes from his compatriots, he went on to explain.
“I’m taking a little bit of everything from each fighter,” admitted Gogoladze. Which means he’s going “to take Merab’s wrestling, to take the Giga Kick from Giga Chikadze, and Levan’s timing— I’m trying to see each thing in each fighter from Georgia, and take it and put it in Amiran Gogoladze, to make another of the great fighters.” Watching his fellow Georgians, added Gogoladze, “makes me so happy and so proud to see my fellows’ success, and I can’t wait to join them on the big stages and give the country more victories.”
At Oktagon 47 in Slovakia, Gogoladze has been paired up with Lukasz Siwiec, and will be looking for his second straight win.
“Lukasz most likely is going to try to control me close to the cage,” predicted Gogoladze, noting that that was the method his opponent had been employing lately. He doesn’t expect it to work.
“I’m going to prove that there’s levels between us, and I think I’m twice above him in the levels. Because MMA is all about levels in the fight, and I’m going to prove that I’m levels above Lukasz in this fight.” Gogoladze also believes that his opponent will not be able to take him down, after focusing on his wrestling defense during training camp. “I’m going to show him the Georgian power, what it means. And I’m going to show that he cannot take me down and control me, because I’m going to dominate in this fight.”
Watch our full interview with Oktagon 47 welterweight Amiran Gogoladze above.
