That’s okay – this guy will get what’s coming on January 18th.
#ufc311 🦾🇬🇪🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/hC8YN6vkX9
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil)
December 23, 2024
It may be the holiday season, but Merab Dvalishvili wasn’t feeling particularly cheerful after he was reportedly denied entry to the UFC Performance Institute on Monday.
The reigning bantamweight champion claimed in a social media post that security wouldn’t let him into the facility because his UFC 311 opponent Umar Nurmagomedov was already inside the building.
“I’m here in front of the UFC PI and the security won’t let me in because ‘Umar Nurmagomedov is inside,’ and they’re protecting him,” Dvalishvili said in the video. spoke. “Don’t worry, guys. I’m not going to beat him before the fight. But January 18th is a different story. I was going to be treated for an injury, so I won’t be available for UFC PI. Some pictures. I was supposed to have lunch with a friend. What the heck? Because of all the rudeness and all the lies he said, I didn’t like this guy. I’m going to smash it.
“You better come, Umar. Today you are protected. Don’t worry, I’m not going to hit you before you fight. But on January 18th, no one will protect you. .”
It is unclear if Dvalishvili received access to UFC PI later in the day or if his session was rescheduled.
Tensions have been rising between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov in recent months. Dvalishvili was not particularly keen on making his first defense against Nurmagomedov, believing that the Dagestan was favored by the promotion as the cousin of retired lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Most recently, The Machine claimed that the altercation with a fan at UFC 310 was part of a set-up by Nurmagomedov and his team.
UFC 311 will take place on January 18th at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and will feature a lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan. Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov is scheduled to be the co-main event of the evening.
