Umar Nurmagomedov’s camp is confident that he will next fight Merab Dvalishvili for the title.
Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley to win the bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday. Nurmagomedov has been talked about as Dvalishvili’s next title challenger.
However, Dvalishvili has consistently downplayed the unbeaten Dagestan fighter’s claims to a title fight, with “The Machine” claiming Nurmagomedov has skyrocketed up the rankings because he is the cousin of former lightweight champion and MMA GOAT candidate Khabib Nurmagomedov.
After Dvalishvili’s win over “Suga,” UFC commentator Joe Rogan asked about the possibility of a title defense against Nurmagomedov, who was in attendance at UFC 306. Due to the natural emotions following a title win, Dvalishvili wanted to savor the moment and not immediately try to plan his next move. The Georgian also downplayed Nurmagomedov in his post-fight interview, claiming that the Dagestan native’s win over Cory Sandhagen meant he had no shot at a gold medal. Instead, Dvalishvili singled out former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, adding that he would like Nurmagomedov to overcome another challenge like Petr Yan.
Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, said he expects more from O’Malley and hopes Dvalishvili doesn’t shy away from facing him.
“I expected more from Sean. Merab did a good job,” Nurmagomedov wrote on X. “I hope he doesn’t shy away from a real challenger. Either way, I’m ready.”
I expected more from Sean, but Merab did a good job and I hope he doesn’t shy away from a real challenger.
Either way, we’re ready.
— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv)
September 15, 2024
Whatever Dvalishvili says, Nurmagomedov’s camp seems pretty confident he’s the next title contender. Nurmagomedov’s unbeaten brother, Usman, doesn’t think Dvalishvili has much of a choice in the matter of fighting his brother. The Bellator lightweight champion also understands why Dvalishvili wouldn’t want to put his coveted title on the line against someone like his brother so soon.
“You can run, but you can’t hide,” Usman wrote on his Instagram Story. “Soon Umar will be the undisputed undefeated bantamweight champion and will hold the belt for as long as he wants. I don’t think Merab has much of a choice. I understand his reaction. He has come a long way but a fight with Umar now would be a stylistic nightmare for him.”
Meanwhile, his manager Ali Abdelaziz claims he has already confirmed with the UFC that Umar will be fighting Dvalishvili next.
I spoke @ufc translation: Next, bless Merab. No one deserves more blessings than him 🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00)
September 15, 2024
Source link
