UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov called out rising star Merab Dvalishvili. He believes he is a great match up for Dvalishvili who doesn’t want a title shot.
Merab Dvalishvili became more and more popular nowadays. The Georgian just joined the UFC in 2017 and has gone 9-2. He finally got a huge recognition after defeating former champion Petr Yan in a dominant fashion.
The pair competed at UFC Vegas last weekend where Dvalishvili greatly outmatched Yan with his phenomenal wrestling. Dvalishvili also made history in his by attempting 49 takedowns, surpassing Khabib Nurmagomedov record for most takedown attempts in a single bout.
With his latest outing, the 32-year-old marked his 9th win streak and is currently sitting at number 3 in the bantamweight rankings. He is now in a strong position to challenge for the title. However, Dvalishvili previously stated that he refused to exchange blows with his friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling.
His refusal was condemned by UFC president Dana White. It also made the situation a bit complicated. But, Dvalishvili still has a few options such as Sean O’Malley, winner of Vera vs Sandhagen, or even Henry Cejduo.
Meanwhile, Umar Nurmagomedov proposed himself to be the next challenge for Dvalishvili. The 27-year-old took to his Twitter account to post an unofficial poster. The fan-made poster contains pictures of them facing each other complete with their names on it.
Some fans supported the idea and mentioned how Dvalishivli put himself in a hard position by not wanting a title shot.
But, some fans were quick to dismiss the idea. They believe Umar isn’t worthy enough yet to challenge top-ranked athletes.
“You have 0 ranked wins, relax nepotism baby.” and “Where are you ranked, sir?”
Umar is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin and brother of Usman Nurmagomedov, the current Bellator lightweight champion. He joined the UFC in 2021 and is undefeated with a total of 4 matches. He has only competed against non-ranked athletes and is currently ranked number 11.
Umar has also met Dvalishvili at UFC 285 backstage. He was with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and encountered Dvalishvili along with Aljamain Sterling. They greeted each other and were pretty polite.
— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv) March 12, 2023