Merab Dvalishvili claims Umar Nurmagomedov refused to accept a fight against Yadong Song.
Dvalishvili won the bantamweight title with a dominant unanimous decision win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 this past September. Nurmagomedov has since been calling for a title shot against Dvalishvili, who instead wants a rematch against “Suga.”
In the meantime, Nurmagomedov was reportedly close to finalizing a potential title eliminator with Chinese contender Song at UFC Tampa in December. However, Nurmagomedov recently announced that the matchup is off because “Kung Fu Kid” is injured.
Dvalishvili has now countered Nurmagomedov’s claim, accusing the undefeated Dagestani of ducking Song. The Georgian champ has always maintained that Nurmagomedov receives favored treatement from the UFC due to his relationship with cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili reiterated that even if Nurmagomedov gets the next title shot, he is undeserving of it.
“Don’t be fooled again by the bulls—t coming out of Umar’s lying mouth. Yadong didn’t pull out of any fight — he was ready — Umar didn’t sign,” Dvalishvili wrote on X. “Keep talking crap — you need to work hard and fight other contenders to be the [No. 1] contender. You are being given a gift from the UFC as everyone knows without earning it. I can’t wait to smash your face and every lying word that comes out of that mouth when your time comes.”
Don’t be fooled again by the bullsh*t coming out of Umar’s lying mouth. Yadong didn’t pull out of any fight – he was ready – Umar didn’t sign. Keep talking crap – you need to work hard and fight other contenders to be the number one contender. You are being given a gift from the…
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) November 1, 2024
While Nurmagomedov is undefeated in six UFC outings with three finishes, his most significant win came in his last outing against Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision this past August. Meanwhile, Song is coming off unanimous decision loss against former champ Petr Yan at UFC 299 in March. Dvalishvili is riding an 11-fight winning streak — 10 at 135 pounds — that has seen him face much of the top talent in the division.
