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Merab Dvalishvili Sparks ‘Shark Attack’ Comparisons With Gruesome Images Of Pre-UFC 311 Injury

Merab Dvalishvili produced a remarkable performance in the co-main event of UFC 311 to remain the bantamweight champion. Heading into his first title defense, there were some questions surrounding his decision to take this fight against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov for multiple reasons. Not only did the champion appear to be emotional after admitting to […]

Not only did the champion appear to be emotional after admitting to taking the fight on six weeks notice because he felt disrespected by his challenger, there was talk ahead of Saturday night about both men coming in at less than 100%. This only makes Dvalishvili’s latest win even more impressive after he detailed some of the struggles he was battling to even make it to the Octagon, let alone the incredible tenacity that he showed inside the Octagon.

A leg injury in particular seriously threated the fight which considering what happened with Arman Tsarukyan having to withdraw from his rematch with Islam Makhachev due to a back injury, would have been a disaster for the UFC. The Georgian was at serious risk of being pulled from the fight but somehow, it healed enough for him to get the all clear and “The Machine” was never going to let some cuts and bruises stop him from doing what he does best, no matter how bad they were, especially after Nurmagomedov mentioned the champion pulling out to avoid fighting him.

Dvalishvili did detail these injuries in his post-fight press conference having been cut off by Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview but videos that he has since posted on social media show the true extent of the damage that was done to his leg. The following videos are certainly not for the squeamish but to an iron-willed champion like Dvalishvili, they are but a flesh wound.

Whilst Dvalishvili seems relatively unfazed by the injury in the video where he gives his initial reaction, he is certainly in the minority in that regard.

“It looks like he fought after a shark attack.”

“Sheesh. Merab truly is a machine.”

Sheesh. Merab truly is a machine.

— Cyber Argie (@CyberArgie) January 20, 2025

“Someone help the shark”

Someone help the shark

— it’s (@Sweetchinfoo) January 21, 2025

Graphic! Merab Dvalishvili Reveals Gruesome Injury Suffered Ahead of UFC 311 Title Fight

Merab Dvalishvili Reveals Gruesome Injury He Suffered Ahead of UFC 311 Title Fight Merab Dvalishvili scored his first successful defense of the bantamweight title at UFC 311, handing previously undefeated Dagestani sensation…

Merab Dvalishvili scored his first successful defense of the bantamweight title at UFC 311, handing previously undefeated Dagestani sensation Umar Nurmagomedov his first career loss via unanimous decision.

But even before ‘The Machine’ stepped foot inside the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, he was dealing with a gnarly injury that could have put the kibosh on his title fight had the California State Athletic Commission caught it.

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While appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show on Monday, Dvalishvili revealed how he gave the CSAC the slip during his pre-fight physical.

“I was worried the commission was not going to let me fight… California has a very strict commission… The commission guy asked me to show him my shin, so I lifted my left pant leg to show him my shin,” Dvalishvili said. “He kept talking and then asked to show my other leg, so I showed him my left leg again, and then he never knew about the cut.”

Merab Dvalishvili’s Coach reveals how he injured his leg ahead of UFC 311

Dvalishvili’s coach, John Wood, also offered some insight into how his fighter ended up with 27 stitches and a staph infection ahead of one of the biggest fights of his career thus far.

“He got his leg cut up on our bleachers,” Wood told Submission Radio. “He was walking by the bleachers and literally got cuts all over his leg. He left it, kept training through it, and eventually got it stitched up. Then stitches busted, and then he restitched it, and then just his whole shin became infected. It was a concern of even getting cleared for this fight.”

Graphic! Merab Dvalishvili Reveals Gruesome Injury Suffered Ahead of UFC 311 Title Fight

Merab Dvalishvili scored his first successful defense of the bantamweight title at UFC 311, handing previously undefeated Dagestani sensation…

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MMAmania.com (@mmamania)

While appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show on Monday, Dvalishvili revealed how he gave the CSAC the slip during his pre-fight physical.

“I was worried the commission was not going to let me fight… California has a very strict commission… The commission guy asked me to show him my shin, so I lifted my left pant leg to show him my shin,” Dvalishvili said. “He kept talking and then asked to show my other leg, so I showed him my left leg again, and then he never knew about the cut.”

Merab Dvalishvili’s Coach reveals how he injured his leg ahead of UFC 311

Dvalishvili’s coach, John Wood, also offered some insight into how his fighter ended up with 27 stitches and a staph infection ahead of one of the biggest fights of his career thus far.

“He got his leg cut up on our bleachers,” Wood told Submission Radio. “He was walking by the bleachers and literally got cuts all over his leg. He left it, kept training through it, and eventually got it stitched up. Then stitches busted, and then he restitched it, and then just his whole shin became infected. It was a concern of even getting cleared for this fight.”

Coach Insists ‘Healthy’ Sean O’Malley Can Be The One To Beat Merab Dvalishvili After Watching UFC 311 Performance

The coach of Sean O’Malley believes the former UFC bantamweight champion can be the “kryptonite” to Merab Dvalishvili. Dvalishvili returned four months on from his victory over O’Malley to be crowned champ this past weekend, defending the title for the first time opposite undefeated challenger Umar Nurmagomedov. The Georgian enhanced his legacy on MMA’s biggest […]

The coach of Sean O’Malley believes the former UFC bantamweight champion can be the “kryptonite” to Merab Dvalishvili.

Dvalishvili returned four months on from his victory over O’Malley to be crowned champ this past weekend, defending the title for the first time opposite undefeated challenger Umar Nurmagomedov.

The Georgian enhanced his legacy on MMA’s biggest stage with a massive victory in the UFC 311 co-headliner, utilizing his renowned cardio and pace to outpoint his Dagestani rival across five rounds.

With the result, “The Machine” is now being firmly discussed in the division’s GOAT conversation, and many have questioned who has what it takes to unseat him at 135 pounds.

According to coach Tim Welch, the one hope is O’Malley.

“(Dvalishvili) is on a streak, I’ll tell you what,” Welch said in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel. “You could tell after that fourth round that Umar was seriously gassed; he was really tired. He did a good job wrestling. Merab was shooting a ton and Umar was doing a great job at stuffing all of his shots. If he did hit his butt, he hit his butt just for a second and popped right up. But Merab just kept that pace and cardio on him. He’s got some cardio, I’ll tell you that.

“That last 30 seconds of the fight I think really made Merab win the fight. He’s a problem, he’s a big problem,” Welch continued. “But I do believe that we can be the kryptonite to Merab with the right game plan and a good fight camp. With ‘Suge’ healthy, I think we take him out. And we’ll find out, now won’t we?”

Soon after his decision defeat to the current champ inside the Sphere last September, O’Malley headed to the surgery room for a procedure to repair a torn labrum.

Targeting a return in the second quarter of 2025, “Suga” will hope to do so in the form of an opportunity at redemption opposite Dvalishvili.

Merab Dvalishvili’s Coach Erupts Over Nurmagomedov’s Bizarre Blame Game After UFC 311!

Merab Dvalishvili’s coach, John Wood, isn’t interested in hearing Umar Nurmagomedov’s excuses. Immediately after suffering the first professional loss…

Merab Dvalishvili’s coach, John Wood, isn’t interested in hearing Umar Nurmagomedov’s excuses.

Immediately after suffering the first professional loss of his mixed martial arts career, Nurmagomedov claimed that he had broken his hand in the opening round of Saturday’s co-main event in Los Angeles. Since then, Nurmagomedov has shared both images and a video of the injury.

Dvalishvili’s Coach throws shade at Nurmagomedov

During an appearance on Submission Radio following Dvalishvili’s impressive performance at UFC 311, Wood poured cold water all over Nurmagomedov’s broken-hand blues, suggesting that the injury didn’t cause the Dagestani to fade in the latter rounds.

“I mean maybe he broke his hand in the first round maybe he didn’t who knows and I don’t think having a broken hand affects your cardio,” Wood said. “Last time I checked I don’t think your hand bone and your your lungs are connected, so I don’t think that that really played into anything and who cares, it’s a fight that’s what happens you know.

“Maybe you throw a punch wrong or somebody turns their head or you hit someone, that is the name of the game you know.”

Nurmagomedov won the first two rounds on two of the three judges’ scorecards but proceeded to surrender the last three stanzas as Dvalishvili’s unrelenting pace proved to be too much for his previously undefeated challenger.

But if you ask Nurmagomedov, he doesn’t think he lost the fight at all.

Merab Dvalishvili Reveals How He Got Severe Shin Cut Past The Commission To Avoid UFC 311 Cancellation

Merab Dvalishvili utilized some trickery to ensure an injury went unnoticed during medical checks ahead of UFC 311 — and it’s not a particularly strong advertisement for the California State Athletic Commission’s due diligence… Dvalishvili — the reigning bantamweight champion on MMA’s biggest stage — returned for his first title defense this past weekend, co-headlining […]

Dvalishvili — the reigning bantamweight champion on MMA’s biggest stage — returned for his first title defense this past weekend, co-headlining the opening pay-per-view event of 2025 opposite undefeated challenger Umar Nurmagomedov.

“The Machine” once again lived up to his moniker, putting on a relentless pace inside the cage that ultimately proved to be the difference, as he outpointed his Dagestani rival across five rounds at Inglewood’s Intuit Dome.

To make the result even more impressive, the Georgian was seemingly far from 100 percent in the lead-up. He notably sustained a deep cut to his shin just weeks before fight night that even became infected.

While that left the status of his clash against Nurmagomedov up in the air, nothing was going to stop Dvalishvili from making the walk in Los Angeles — pre-fight medical checks includes.

During an appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, “The Machine” explained how he was able to make the wound on his shin go undetected.

“I was worried the commission was not going to let me fight. … California has a very strict commission,” Dvalishvili said. “The commission guy asked me to show me him my shin, so I lifted my left leg pant to show him my shin. He kept talking and then asked to show my other leg, so I showed him my left leg again and then he never knew about the cut.”

Suffice it to say that one CSAC member isn’t too hard to dupe.

Dvalishvili will have been ecstatic that his deception paid off, as he put on a clinic in the final three frames of the UFC 311 co-headliner to keep hold of the bantamweight championship and extend his reign beyond its first hurdle.