Merab Dvalishvili has not changed his tune on Umar Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA, 14-2 UFC) notched his first bantamweight title defense by handing Nurmagomedov his first-career loss at UFC 311. He’s been extremely vocal about his opinion on Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) being privileged, and is openly rooting against him for his next fight.
Nurmagomedov will look to re-enter the title picture when he takes on Mario Bautista (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 321 main card (Pay-per-view, FX/Disney+/ESPN+) at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Dvalishvili expects his win over Nurmagomedov to have an impact on the outcome.
“My prediction for this fight: I think Bautista,” Dvalishvili said of Bautista on UFC Unfiltered. “I mean, it’s a three-round fight. If it’s five-round fight, then I will say Bautista has more of a chance. It’s a three round fight, and Umar is tricky, whatever – but Bautista has a chance.
“I’ll be a little bit cocky: I think I broke Umar, and Bautista can beat him too. I’m cheering for Bautista, and then hopefully, Bautista beats Umar, and then hopefully Bautista will be my next opponent because that will be new blood for our division. Then I would like to fight Bautista.”
Dvalishvili will look to notch his fourth title defense of the year when he runs things back with Petr Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in the UFC 323 headliner on Dec. 6 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Nurmagomedov made his pitch to Dana White during Thursday’s UFC 321 press conference, but Dvalishvili says a win over Bautista won’t be enough to earn him a title-fight rematch.
“If Umar wins, and then maybe one more win,” Dvalishvili said. “Then if we fight again, this time, I will break him, and I will really shut him down.”
