UFC Champ Merab Dvalishvili Wants To Fight Until He's 50 Years Old

Merab Dvalishvili isn't going anywhere anytime soon ... the UFC bantamweight champ says he plans to fight well beyond the point fighters normally lay down their glaves -- until his 50th birthday!

TMZ Sports talked to the 34-year-old fighter about his UFC 320 co-main event scrap against Cory Sanhagen in Las Vegas, as well as his standing in the pound-for-pound rankings, and much more.

"I'm grateful. I'm number three now [pound-for-pound], and I'm good here. If [number one] happens, then I will become number one. That's good. If not, I'm good here. I'm a champion of my division, and there are a lot of good guys here [at bantamweight]."

Merab, who is on a 13-fight UFC win streak, continued, and he made it clear he wasn't worried about his legacy, saying ... "I'm planning to fight until 50 years old, and I will have many records and many good stories."

As for Dvalishvili's strategy against Sandhagen, he's gunning to beat him at his own game.

"I'm planning to strike with him," Cory said, adding ... "I was working on my striking and my stand, my punches. That's the goal to drop him."

We also talked to 33-year-old Sandhagen, Dvalishvili's opponent, who is coming off a win vs. Deiveson Figueiredo in May ... and it's safe to say he's locked in and ready for his long-awaited crack at the UFC title.