Merab
Dvalishvili has been a
UFC champion for less than six months, but he’s already
experiencing what it feels like to be a marked man at the top of
the division.
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“Since I become champion, it became a lot of drama too,”
Dvalishvili recently told ESPN. “Lots of talking online. I don’t
know, maybe because everybody wanted to see me fight against Umar
[Nurmagomedov]. Everybody talking s—t.”
Dvalishvili claimed the bantamweight throne with a lopsided
unanimous decision triumph against Sean O’Malley at UFC
306 this past September. Nurmagomedov was in attendance for the
fight, and the Dagestani immediately became the promotion’s top
contender of choice — despite Dvalishvili’s objections. While the
33-year-old Georgian wanted to enjoy his championship achievement,
he ultimately agreed to defend his belt against Nurmagomedov in the
UFC
311 co-main event on Jan. 18 in Los Angeles.
In the meantime, “The Machine” has felt the backlash from those who
perceived that he was initially avoiding a fight against
Nurmagomedov. It all comes with the territory of being a champion,
and Dvalishvili claims he’s now comfortable with the additional
scrutiny.
“The last couple of fights, I used to get a lot of attention.
People recognize me. But hate on Instagram and social media, that
was very hard for me,” Dvalishvili said. “That was like extra
pressure. But it’s all good. Now I’m good. I’m focused for the
fight.
“I’m still learning. The best way now is I should just stay busy
and take fights, and that’s it. Because I was going to enjoy this
time, but now I feel like I’m Conor
McGregor – a lot of drama comes. Even Jon Jones and
Mike Tyson used to get a lot of drama. I’m like, ‘Where is this
coming from?’ I’m the same guy. I’m training, doing the same things
— but it’s all good.”
Even though Dvalishvili signed the contract to face Nurmagomedov,
he still maintains that the undefeated Eagles MMA product hasn’t
put in the necessary work to earn the No. 1 contender’s spot.
Nurmagomedov’s 18-0 record includes six victories in UFC
competition. However, outside of Cory
Sandhagen, most of his opponents weren’t from the upper echelon
of the division — and that was Dvalishvili’s biggest gripe. By
comparison, Dvalishvili had to best the likes of Henry
Cejudo, Petr Yan,
Jose
Aldo, Marlon
Moraes and John Dodson
before he received a title shot.
“Umar is a good fighter. It’s a big challenge. But he don’t earn it
like the rest of us,” Dvalishvili said. “We all work hard to get
here. I don’t get anything easy. But Umar somehow gets [an easy
path]. He just complains all the time that nobody wants to fight
him.
“But there are so many good fighters. There is [Mario] Bautista.
There are so many fighters that are killers. There is [Montel]
Jackson… He fought only Sandhagen, no wrestlling. I guess he’s
using this excuse: He beat No. 2 guy [in the UFC rankings] and now
he’s here. It’s a big challenge. [The only thing] I hate, he just
doesn’t earn it like how a UFC fighter should earn it. He’s just
cocky. He should be humble at least.”
With that being said, Dvalishvili acknowledges the skills his
opponent brings to the table.
“The fight will be really tough. This is big challenge for me
because it’s a new face,” Dvalishvili said. “He’s a good fighter.
He has good kicking, good striking, good wrestling. It’s a new
challenge.”