Merab Dvalishvili wants peace with rival Umar Nurmagomedov after UFC 311 dust settles: “I want to be good with him again”
Merab Dvalishvili wants to make peace with UFC 311 PPV title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov after their weekend clash.
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Merab Dvalishvili wants peace with Umar Nurmagomedov after UFC 311 (Source: X/IMAGO)
Two bantamweight heads collide in the PPV co-main event of UFC 311 on Saturday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood. Champion Merab Dvalishvili has been at odds with Umar Nurmagomedov for a while now. Ahead of his maiden defense though, Dvalishvili has had enough of the sour banter the crown can bring. Heavy is the head and all; he consequently doesn’t want to do it again.
Dressed in an all-burgundy suit, UFC 135-pound champ Merab Dvalishvili looked calmer than usual at Media Day. He didn’t think much of Umar Nurmagomedov. The Georgian himself put on a 10-fight winning streak before shooting at gold and wanted the same amount of effort from his challenger. What resulted was a weird to-and-fro between them.
It’s not true. I don’t need to hate nobody, …but it was things that Umar disrespect me. He called me a fake champion, which I’m not a fake champion…Now it’s all good, …We have fight week. I’m positive. Of course, I want to shake hands, and I want to give him respect. I want to be good with him again. We have to settle this one now. We are men. That’s OK. Sometimes we will fight. I’m just upset that he disrespected me.
Merab Dvalishvili during UFC 311 PPV Media Day fighter interviews
Nurmagomedov has an overall record of 18-0, including wins in his first six fights in the UFC. He most recently won at the UFC on ABC 7 headliner last August. Merab Dvalishvili has often poked at him. Meanwhile, mean “Machine” enters UFC 311 on an 11-fight winning streak. His win streak includes top names like Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, and Sean O’Malley.
Dvalishvili claimed the 135-pound title this past September with a dominant win over “Suga.” The discourse of the matchup saw a wrestle-heavy Dvalishvili blow mocking smooches on a downed O’Malley. The champion iterates that example to say he always has a frenetic or somewhat jolly disposition. The 135-pound title challenger also has sniffed for signs of weakness.
Umar Nurmagomedov accuses ‘nervous’ Merab Dvalishvili of trying to avoid title clash
The fight goes ahead, but Umar Nurmagomedov is convinced it’s not what Merab Dvalishvili wanted. “Young Eagle” was frustrated that the champion dismissed him and then angled for a Ramadan return in March. It has led to some charged banters between them.
Challenger Nurmagomedov is now accusing champ Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) of trying to avoid this billing not only for UFC 311. But also on multiple previous occasions where he says Dvalishvili didn’t prefer this clash. The champion kept saying the pairing came too early. Nurmagomedov believes he’s done enough to earn his place as the number one contender.
He’s nervous – of course he’s nervous, …He’s maybe upset with UFC – they pushed him to fight with me. Even before he was champion, he don’t take this fight. He doesn’t want to fight with me and when he became champion. He can’t tell anything to UFC or Dana to show them. He’s always talking he’s company guy, company guy – but they pushed him to fight with me.
Umar Nurmagomedov during UFC 311 PPV Media Day fighter interviews
Dvalishvili has been vocal in the build-up that he does not believe Nurmagomedov deserves to challenge him. Nurmagomedov, the cousin of retired UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov, often catches flak for riding on his coattails. The challenger gives a hard pass on that.
Nurmagomedov’s five-fight UFC bantamweight winning streak is the third-longest active streak. On DraftKings Sportbooks, Nurmagomedov has opened as a -198 betting favorite, which has only ballooned to somewhere around -350. While Dvalishvili props as a +164 underdog. Come UFC 311, the fighter means to prove the math isn’t wrong.
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