Umar Nurmagomedov says UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili tried to avoid him as much as possible by targeting other fighters instead.
Dvalishvili will make the first defense of his belt against Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 on January 18. He won the belt after beating Sean O’Malley at UFC 306. He now faces the undefeated Nurmagomedov, who is seen as the leading contender in the division. Umar beat Cory Sandhagen in his last fight to take his record to 6-0.
Dvalishvili had eyes on the O’Malley rematch. Sean underwent surgery on his hip after the loss, meaning an immediate rematch was off the table. O’Malley is expected to return around April-May. Dvalishvili also named Petr Yan as another opponent, with the aim of fighting four times next year. But Nurmagomedov felt Merab wanted fights he knew he could win to make the most money before he had to face him.
“I think he just wants to fight with a guy who [he] can beat. It does not mean I 100 percent go inside the cage and smash him. No. He knows, other guys, he will beat [them]. Me? It’s going to be hard. That’s why he tried to be champion a long time. He wants to fight with O’Malley or with Petr Yan or someone else because he knows these guys, easy money. Me? Not. “For me, he has to go deep waters. For me, it’s going to be a long night,” Nurmagomedov said
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Man I can’t wait for this
— TylerMMA (@_TylerMMA) January 1, 2025
first wrestler a nurmagomedov has ever had to fight in the UFC
— deroman23 (@7mac11s838) January 2, 2025
All Merab has to do is win
— Jimmy Luke (@Joshjoshmma) January 2, 2025