Khabib Nurmagomedov is less than impressed with Merab Dvalishvili’s conduct as the UFC bantamweight champion. During a sitdown with Gorilla Energy, he expressed his belief that the 135-pound titleholder was forced into his UFC 311 title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov.
The leadup to the UFC 311 co-main event has been defined by Dvalishvili’s reluctance to face ‘The Young Eagle,’ who he has repeatedly described as an undeserving title challenger.
Umar’s cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov, feels that had the UFC not allegedly forced Dvalishvili into the fight, it would have never happened.
Khabib believes the UFC forced Merab to fight Umar 😬
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 17, 2025
“I believe that the UFC made Merab fight and they pressured him… the UFC needed a co-main event.”
🎥 @gorillaenergy #UFC311 #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/6hgbApfEXE
“On January 18, we’re going into the cage and we have to take that belt, and we’re going to show that Umar is the best. The difficulty was only because Merab didn’t want to fight. I believe that the UFC made Merab fight and they pressured him and they made him fight him. The UFC needed a co-main event fight. That’s my personal opinion. Umar after [Cory] Sandhagen was targeting the belt.”
Unfortunately for Dvalishvili, his reservations about fighting Umar must be put to bed as he is now 24 hours away from defending his bantamweight title against his undefeated rival. Ahead of the bout, Dvalishvili has repeatedly accused Umar of disrespect, despite the latter’s largely respectful rhetoric.
However, things took a turn at the UFC 311 pre-fight press conference, with Umar gladly taking on the role of a heel by trash-talking an irate Dvalishvili. Despite the mind games and gamesmanship, Khabib Nurmagomedov will be certain to keep Umar calm and level-headed come fight night.