Umar Nurmagomedov just seems to really rub Merab Dvalishvili the wrong way.
Bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) handed Nurmagomedov his first-career loss in their title fight at UFC 311 in January, but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to express his frustration towards him.
Dvalishvili thinks Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) was fast tracked to a title shot due to his family name, and recounted a story of running into him at the UFC Performance Institute, which he claims he has on video.
“Umar is spoiled,” Dvalishvili said in an interview with Daniel Cormier. “He’s a good fighter. Of course he got my attention, everyone’s attention, before he signed with the UFC. We all know him because of Khabib, a great champion, a legend of the sport. Of course it was easy: UFC signed him straight. (away). There are many fighters who have to go through Dana White’s Contender Series or ‘(Dana White:)’ Lookin’ for a Fight,’ or ‘Ultimate Fighter.’
“He signed with the UFC, and of course he was fighting good. But he was fighting unranked guys, and after they gave him a very high-ranked guy, Cory Sandhagen, then he was talking sh*t and being disrespectful to me and some other fighters. He told me, ‘You are old, Dominick Cruz is old, Cody Garbrandt old, Henry Cejudo is old’ to my face. He was telling me, ‘I want to fight you.’ I said, ‘Me? I want to fight for the belt. I don’t want to go back and fight behind (in the rankings).'”
Nurmagomedov will return for the first time since losing to Dvalishvili when he takes on Mario Bautista (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) at UFC 321 on Oct. 25 in Abu Dhabi. Earlier in the month, Dvalishvili defends his title against Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in the UFC 320 co-main event on Oct. 4.
If both emerge victorious, could we see a rematch?
“I don’t think he will deserve to fight me. He has to fight more,” Dvalishvili said. “He has to prove again. Whatever the UFC give me, I will fight. I don’t care. No problem.”
