Merab Dvalishvili is intensely confrontational towards Umar Nurmagomedov ahead of their UFC 311 bantamweight title fight, accusing him of not deserving the match and disrespecting him online, while Nurmagomedov remains calm amid the heated exchange.
Merab Dvalishvili is fired up. Next month, he’s set to defend his bantamweight title against Umar Nurmagomedov in UFC 311’s co-main event. At Friday’s press conference in Las Vegas, the tension between the two fighters was palpable. Dvalishvili wasted no time expressing that he believes Nurmagomedov doesn’t deserve this fight.
“It’s personal,” Dvalishvili declared. “I always showed him respect, but he started trash-talking online. Real men don’t do that.” His frustration was clear as he recounted his plans for future fights being disrupted. Initially, he wanted to enjoy a six-month break between bouts, but things changed rapidly.
Dvalishvili had envisioned fighting Petr Yan in March after an exciting call-out, with O’Malley and Nurmagomedov following in April and May. However, the schedule flipped unexpectedly. Despite acknowledging Nurmagomedov as a skilled fighter, Dvalishvili argued that he hadn’t earned his shot like others have.
In the heat of the moment, Dvalishvili didn’t hold back. He interrupted Nurmagomedov’s response with personal attacks, calling him out for lacking integrity. “Be a man!” he shouted. “You lost respect from me! Real men don’t talk trash online!”
Nurmagomedov remained composed amidst the chaos, insisting he never made personal attacks and only suggested Dvalishvili avoided him. This only fueled Dvalishvili’s anger further. “Who are you?!” he retorted, questioning Nurmagomedov’s worthiness of a title shot.
As tensions rose, lightweight champion Islam Makhachev stepped in to de-escalate the situation. “Don’t make the belt look bad,” Makhachev advised calmly. Despite the harsh words exchanged, cooler heads prevailed during their first face-off, with UFC CEO Dana White ensuring no physical altercation occurred.
UFC 311 is slated for Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., promising a night of high-stakes matchups and intense rivalries.