The world of mixed martial arts is often filled with intense rivalries and personal vendettas. However, amidst the fierce competition, there are also stories of camaraderie and respect. One such narrative revolves around UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili and UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov: A Contested Rivalry
Merab Dvalishvili likes to do his talking inside the octagon, but he has a few words for Umar Nurmagomedov. Following that win, Nurmagomedov gave his take on his feud with Dvalishvili, claiming the champion doesn’t want it because “he knows what’s going to happen” in a rematch. On a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Dvalishvili gave his reasons for why he and Nurmagomedov can’t get along.
“No. 1 thing: He didn’t respect me and he called me a fake champion,” Dvalishvili said. “I don’t know if he was tweeting or maybe his assistant or whatever it is. Maybe help me to translate, but it’s always me. I will never let my manager or my friend or my brother tweet for me to say words that aren’t even mine."
“Yes, it’s a fight, we may lose, he was supposed to beat me, one punch can change everything, but I earned it. I earned it to get there, I was champion, and he should respect me because if you’re fighting for a championship and then you beat the champion, you don’t want to beat somebody stupid. You should give the champion respect, that’s what I was most mad about him, he doesn’t respect me.
After a backstage altercation ahead of their first UFC 311 press conference, tensions between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov are thick. Things didn’t alleviate during the press conference as the two top bantamweight fighters hijacked most of the microphone time.
Read also: Family Influence on Khabib
The bantamweight stars fought this past January at UFC 311, where Dvalishvili defeated Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision to retain his UFC championship. It was an entertaining contest and there was immediate talk of a future rematch, but Dvalishvili has stayed busy in the meantime with two more successful title defenses in 2025 and potentially a fourth when he fights Petr Yan next Saturday at UFC 323. Nurmagomedov has also done his part to keep a rematch alive, beating Mario Bautista at UFC 321 in October.
He has repeatedly dismissed talk of moving up to featherweight and at the moment he is focused solely on his next title defense, not his beef with Nurmagomedov. “He’s now making excuses and I’m done with him,” Dvalishvili said.
Khabib's Perspective on Dvalishvili
UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Merab Dvalishvili’s recent outbursts can be attributed to the added pressures of having a world title. As shared by Red Corner MMA, Nurmagomedov weighed in on Dvalishvili’s outbursts ahead of UFC 311.
“I think when he began his career, he was acting good. When he became champion, he cannot deal with this,” Nurmagomedov said of Dvalishvili. “Because life changes. Before champion and after champion, there are two lives. You have to deal with it."
“I think Umar deserves it. I don’t know why Merab is nervous,” Nurmagomedov continued. “Umar’s here not because he is my cousin. He’s here because he’s 18-0 and 6-0 in the UFC. Umar wants to create his legacy. January 18, he will show why Merab is nervous.”
Read also: The Story of Abubakar Nurmagomedov
Dvalishvili has the opportunity to prove Khabib, Umar, and other detractors wrong during his upcoming first title defense. Leading up to UFC 311, Nurmagomedov defeated the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Raoni Barcelos, and Bekzat Almakhan en route to the title shot. Before outpointing O’Malley, Dvalishvili earned top-tier wins over former titleholders Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, and José Aldo.
It’ll be a busy night for Khabib as he coaches two of the card’s top headliners at UFC 311. In the main event, Nurmagomedov’s longtime teammate and friend Islam Makhachev will defend the UFC lightweight title in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan.
Khabib Nurmagomedov recently came up with a few supportive words for his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov following the latter's loss against Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event of UFC 311. Khabib's words also packed a punch of motivation apart from a consoling statement. In a few recent interviews, Khabib detailed how UFC 311 would be a grueling one for him.
Three fighters from Team Khabib took to the octagon on the night of Jan. 18. Tagir Ulanbekov and Islam Makhachev completed their assignments successfully with victories over their rivals. The Dagestani bantamweight started the fight strongly and won the first round on two of the three judges' scorecards. The second stanza turned out to be even better for Umar as all three judges scored it in his favor. However, his gas tank started depleting rapidly from the third round, which allowed Dvalishvili to take control of the fight with a plethora of takedowns. Despite Umar's defeat, Khabib had no complaints regarding his in-fight commitment. Yesterday you showed that you are one of the best in the world. At the moment we have a lot to work on.
In his fight vs Umar Nurmagomedov, by the fifth round, he didn’t even look remotely tired despite actively going for takedowns for five rounds.”However, supporters of ‘The Eagle’ believe this statistic merely paints the picture that their hero was much more effective.
Read also: Nurmagomedov's Next Chapter
A Nurmagomedov fan wrote: “Khabib needed less because he finished more,” while a second exclaimed: “That’s because Khabib’s opponents rarely get up.” A third stated: “And Dvalishvili’s done nothing with them, Khabib mauled his opponents, choked them out. Merab is just a man with a crazy gas tank.”
UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili went back to work a little quicker than anybody anticipated, returning from a title win in September to a title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov this Saturday at UFC 311 - and Umar's cousin Khabib believes he knows why.
Dvalishvili had planned on fighting in March or April in a rematch against former champs Sean O'Malley or Petr Yan, but after a war of words with Nurmagomedov, the current champion decided to make a four-month turnaround - not much longer than what his teammate Aljamain Sterling did for his two title fights in 2023.
In the opposing corner, Khabib Nurmagomedov says Dvalishvili had no desire to fight the undefeated Umar and believes the reigning champion wasn't left with much of a choice.
"On Jan. 18, we’re going into the cage and we have to take that belt," Khabib told Gorilla Energy. "We’re gonna 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 made him fight him."
"The UFC needed a co-main event fight. That’s my personal opinion.
Key Moments and Facts:
- Dvalishvili defeated Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 by unanimous decision.
- Khabib believes Dvalishvili feels pressured as a champion.
- Dvalishvili accused Umar of disrespecting his title.
- Khabib suggested UFC pressured Dvalishvili into taking the fight against Umar.
| Fighter | Key Wins |
|---|---|
| Merab Dvalishvili | Sean O'Malley, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, José Aldo |
| Umar Nurmagomedov | Cory Sandhagen, Raoni Barcelos, Bekzat Almakhan |
"HOW MERAB WON?!" | MERAB DVALISHVILI vs UMAR NURMAGOMEDOV 'VOID' BREAKDOWN
Regardless of who’s right in the argument, both Dvalisvhili and Nurmagomedov are incredible grapplers, with ‘The Machine’ carving out a legacy akin to the great Russian’s. However, as good as the former UFC lightweight champion is, one MMA icon has his reservations about whether he could’ve beaten Georges-St-Pierre. The fighter in question, who’s trained with ‘Rush’, is adamant he knows how that clash would’ve gone.The former world title challenger explained why St-Pierre would’ve beaten Nurmagomedov.