The UFC recently announced that Merab Dvalishvili will be defending his bantamweight title against Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311 next year. Islam Makhachev will headline the card, running it back against Arman Tsarukyan, and all four fighters featured at a recent presser in Las Vegas.
At the UFC 311 pre-fight presser, Dvalishvili proved once more that he is a menace on the microphone. During the event, a reporter asked Nurmagomedov about his best moment with his teammate, Makhachev. Before the unbeaten Russian could answer the question, he was interrupted by the current UFC bantamweight champion, who from the side started yelling, “Jacuzzi!”
The Georgian fighter was referencing the infamous bathtub picture with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev, and other Dagestani wrestlers that went viral online, as seen in UFC middleweight Paulo Costa’s hilarious post below.
How take pic with woman , how take pic with man’s .
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) April 14, 2023
🙏 wise man pic.twitter.com/xvJVmV06oh
In response, ‘Young Eagle’ advised ‘The Machine’ to focus on the upcoming fight and asserted that he was not in the aforementioned photo. However, Dvalishvili’s remark seemed to have slightly agitated Makhachev, who stated:
“Hey I want to say just one thing. Merab I don’t have nothing for you. Just respect. But don’t make the belt look bad… When you have some real contender just fight…”
Check out Islam Makhachev’s message to Merab Dvalishvili:
Islam Makhachev sends a message to fellow champ Merab Dvalishvili that stirs the pot with Umar Nurmagomedov 😬 #UFC311 pic.twitter.com/9qtgN1HqPM
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) December 6, 2024