Merab Dvalishvili snapped back at Umar Nurmagomedov over ducking allegations.
Following his dominant performance against ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley to claim the bantamweight title at UFC 306, Dvalishvili’s first defense is expected to come against the No. 2 ranked Nurmagomedov. However, ‘The Machine’ has expressed disinterest in the matchup, noting Nurmagomedov’s lack of wins against top 15 opponents.
Dvalishvili also offered O’Malley an immediate rematch to O’Malley which had the Dagestani accusing him of ducking the next man up.
“He ready to fight with anyone except Umar Nurmagomedov,” the undefeated fighter wrote on X after Dvalishvili welcomed a sequel scrap with O’Malley.
Merab snaps back at Umar Nurmagomedov
It didn’t take long for Dvalishvili to snap back at Nurmagomedov on social media and claim that the Dagestani had already been offered two opportunities to fight him.
“Umar Now not only are you disrespectful , you are a liar. If UFC offered you to fight with me 2 times – show the fans the contract and the dates. They offered me to fight you right after I beat Petr Yan with a broken hand in 6 weeks. I accepted the fight verbally even thought i was no. 1 contender and you were no. 13 rank and even with broken hand. Ultimately the doctor said no to this and I had surgery.
“So lets see the contract of the second offering??!!! So if the UFC is gifting you the title defense – wtf are you talking trash and with disrespect? I’m done with you now because you keep lying – you lost my respect as a man and a martial artist. I will wait to hear from the UFC.”
Nurmagomedov questioned the injury Dvalishvili was referring to before taking another dig at the champ in a pair of posts on X.
“Is that the same injury you were ready to fight Cory with? I am just basing this on the manager’s words,” Nurmagomedov wrote in response. “Since prehistoric times no one cares about the respect of cowards.”
Needless to say, things are heating up between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov. Are you excited to see the two world-class wrestlers go toe-to-toe in 2025?
