Amid their ongoing rivalry, unbeaten bantamweight contender, Umar Nurmagomedov has hit out at incoming title challenger, Merab Dvalishvili after the Georgian accused him of somewhat “cheating” his way to title contention after his UFC Abu Dhabi victory.
Nurmagomedov, who managed to scoop the number two rank in the division over the course of last weekend, turned in a dominant unanimous decision win over former interim title challenger, Cory Sandhagen in his return to action, improving to 18-0 as a professional to boot.
As for Dvalishvili, the Tbilisi native is scheduled to finally challenge for gold next month in the main event of Noche UFC at the Las Vegas Sphere, taking on the incumbent bantamweight best, Sean O’Malley.
Sidelined since he featured at UFC 298 back in February, Dvalishvili turned in a one-sided unanimous decision win over Henry Cejudo to earn his title pairing with Montana striker, O’Malley.
And reacting to Umar Nurmagomedov’s win over Sandhagen, Dvalishvili claimed the Russian’s connection with his cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov saw him “cheat” his way to a title charge.
Umar (Nurmagomedov), let’s see,” Merab Dvalishvili said. “He has a big test now. I know the UFC [are] pushing him. He don’t deserve the push like this. He’s a good fighter, but he beat nobody and he’s ranked number ten. Now, he’s fighting number two. He has a push because we all know why. He’s Khabib’s cousin. He’s a good fighter. I have all the respect [for] him.”
“It leaves me heartbroken when you see sometimes when you working hard I wasn’t sure if I was getting a title fight until two weeks ago,” Merab Dvalishvili explained. “He’s a good fighter, but we will see. I’m not excited for this fight because I know he got here easy. He’s a good fighter but he got pushed. It’s like cheating a little bit to get here. I have 12 fights in the UFC, O beat like seven or eight ranked fighters Umar don’t fight any ranked fighters yet.”
Umar Nurmagomedov issues warning to Merab Dvalishvili
And replying to Dvalishvili, unbeaten star, Umar Nurmagomedov urged the Georgian to just “stop crying” and accept his rise through challengers.
“(Petr) Yan fought for title after six wins,” Umar Nurmagomedov posted on his official X account. “(Sean) O’Malley after four wins. Merab could fight for title with (Aljamain Sterling) last year. You have to stop crying. You’re just scared that I will take everything from you.”