UFC 311: Merab Dvalishvili Vows To Humble ‘Cocky’ Umar Nurmagomedov in First Title Defense
January 13, 2025
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Undisputed UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has promised to put undefeated challenger Umar Nurmagomedov in his place at UFC 311 after branding the Russian contender “cocky”.
Dvalishvili takes on Nurmagomedov in Saturday night’s co-main event, with the Georgian world champion determined to retain the title in his first defense of the 135-pound championship.
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 05: UFC Fighter Merab Dvalishvili poses for a picture prior to the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on January 05, 2025 in… LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 05: UFC Fighter Merab Dvalishvili poses for a picture prior to the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on January 05, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Chatting to Stake ahead of fight night in Inglewood, California, Dvalishvili said that Nurmagomedov’s talk of injuries ahead of the bout are a case of the challenger looking to lay the groundwork for a post-fight excuse.
“Of course he is making excuses,” he said.
“You guys saw he was training with Henry Cejudo (and) he was holding gloves to Henry and was punching. Then I saw he was sparring with tough guys and I have heard him say that he was totally fine and that he had a little injury a couple of months ago. It is just him making excuses.”
The rivalry between the pair got heated after comments made by Nurmagomedov on social media. Since then, the tension level between the pair has been significantly higher.
“Bro, I posted on my Instagram. Go watch what he did,” he said.
“He did so many things. Go on his Twitter. He deleted many, but you are still going to see it. He was disrespectful to me.
“MMA media have short memories. Did you see the video when I asked him why you are disrespecting me, right? He said, ‘Because I wanted to, what are you gonna do about it?’ Thirty minutes later, he lied in front of everybody. He said ‘I never disrespected you, I never disrespected your country.’ But then I posted pictures and videos and you guys can see.
“You should never disrespect professional fighters, especially in the arena when I was cornering Aljamain Sterling and I was walking away, I wasn’t doing anything, man.
“As a fighter he’s a good fighter, but as a man he’s not a man.”
Dvalishvili also firmly believes that Nurmagomedov is overconfident heading into the bout, and “The Machine” promised to give him the toughest night of his career on Saturday night.
“Nurmagomedov is actually cocky – that’s his problem,” he said.
“He thinks that he got this one, easy, but he’s never faced me. And believe me, he will know on the night. He will realize that he’s going to fight me and he will be humble.”
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And if Dvalishvili successfully turns back the challenge of Nurmagomedov on Saturday night at Intuit Dome, he said he wants to test himself against a former champion.
“My dream is to fight the best of the best, so maybe it will be another former champion,” he said.
“In my career, I have always fought the best and I want to keep doing that.”
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