MMA fans are dismissing AKA head coach Javier Mendez’s recent comments explaining why Umar Nurmagomedov lost to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311.
In a recent interview on his channel, Mendez revealed his surprise upon seeing Nurmagomedov’s broken hand after the bout, but his explanation for the loss has drawn criticism from the MMA community.
“When I come back and I see him, he comes in, I go into the room and I see his hand here and it’s this fingers all the way down here broken and I’m like, my eyes just got really wide,” Mendez said.
Despite the injury, Mendez maintained that he felt Nurmagomedov won three out of five rounds. However, he attributed the fifth-round loss to Dvalishvili’s showmanship rather than technical superiority.
“In the fifth round, the reason why you didn’t win is because he showboated in his way to winning that. Like he acted like the victor where you were tired,” Mendez explained. “That’s why I feel he basically took it from you because you led him.”
The veteran coach acknowledged that while Dvalishvili didn’t inflict significant damage compared to Nurmagomedov, his confident demeanor influenced the judges.
“When it comes to presence, he definitely got that,” Mendez admitted. “The actual damage that he did was nothing compared to what Umar did. But he did show that ‘I’m the winner, I’m the winner,’ and Umar couldn’t stop him from showing that. I can see how the judges would get swayed on that.”
Fans have widely rejected this assessment, pointing out that Dvalishvili hurt Nurmagomedov with a significant right hand in the fifth round and demonstrated superior cardio throughout the championship rounds.
Many observers believe Dvalishvili legitimately won the bout based on his effective striking and grappling in the later rounds, not merely through posturing or showboating.
The bout, which ended in a unanimous decision victory for Dvalishvili (48-47 on all scorecards), was competitive but clear in its outcome according to most MMA media outlets and analysts.
Nurmagomedov suffered his first professional defeat, while Dvalishvili extended his winning streak to 11 wins, solidifying his position as the champion in the bantamweight division.
