Umar
Nurmagomedov’s camp is confident that he fights Merab
Dvalishvili for the title next.
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Dvalishvili dethroned Sean O’Malley to win the bantamweight title
via a dominant unanimous decision in the main event at UFC
306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday. Nurmagomedov has
been discussed as the next likely title challenger for
Dvalishvili.
However, Dvalishvili has consistently downplayed the undefeated
Dagestani’s claim to a title shot. “The Machine” claims
Nurmagomedov was quickly moved up the rankings because he is the
cousin of former lightweight champ and MMA GOAT contender Khabib
Nurmagomedov.
After Dvalishvili’s win over “Suga,”
UFCcommentator Joe Rogan asked him about potentially defending
his title against Nurmagomedov, who was also in attendance at UFC
306. Understandably emotional after his title victory, Dvalishvili
wanted to soak in the moment, refusing to plot his next move
immediately. The Georgian also downplayed Nurmagomedov in his post
fight interview, arguing that the Dagestani shouldn’t get a gold
bid off of a win over Cory
Sandhagen. Dvalishvili instead called out former flyweight
champ Deiveson
Figueiredo, adding that he wants Nurmagomedov to go through
another test such as Petr Yan.
Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov said he expected more from O’Malley and
hopes Dvalishvili won’t avoid a fight against him.
“I expected more from Sean, Merab did his job well,” Nurmagomedov
wrote on X. “I hope he won’t avoid the real challenger. In any
case, I’m ready.”
I expected more from Sean, Merab did his job
well. I hope he won’t avoid the real challenger.
In any case, I’m ready.— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv)
September 15, 2024
Regardless of what Dvalishvili says, Nurmagomedov’s camp seems
pretty confident that he’s next in line for the title.
Nurmagomedov’s undefeated brother, Usman, believes Dvalishvili
won’t be given much of a choice about fighting his brother. The
Bellator
lightweight champ also understands why Dvalishvili doesn’t want to
immediately put his long-awaited title on the line against someone
like his brother.
“You can run but you can’t hide,” Usman wrote on his Instagram stories. “Soon Umar will
become undisputed, undefeated bantamweight champ, and will hold
this belt for as long as he wants. I don’t think Merab will be
given much of a choice. I understand his reaction. He came a long
way and now the fight with Umar is a stylistic nightmare for
him.”
Meanwhile, manager Ali Abdelaziz claims to have already confirmed
with the UFC that Umar is next in line to fight Dvalishvili.
I spoke to @ufc @UNmgdv next
congratulation to merab nobody deserve it more than him 🙏🏾🙏🏾— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00)
September 15, 2024