Javier Mendez, a well-known head coach, thinks he understands how Merab Dvalishvili influenced the judges at UFC 311.
On January 18, Dvalishvili faced Umar Nurmagomedov in his first defense of the UFC Bantamweight Title. Due in large part to his cardiovascular prowess, Dvalishvili was able to contain the challenger’s grappling. “The Machine” won the fight via unanimous decision, handing Nurmagomedov his first pro MMA loss.
Nurmagomedov’s coach thinks Dvalishvili’s showboating did him a lot of favors.
Merab’s Taunting Swayed Judges?
Merab Dvalishvili taunted Umar Nurmagomedov’s takedown attempts during the fight, and Javier Mendez revealed on his “Javier & Mo” podcast that he thinks the judges were swayed because of the visual (via MMAFighting.com).
“I just said to him, ‘You know what, Umar? I felt, in my opinion, I felt you won three out of the five rounds,” Mendez said on his Javier & Mo podcast. “Maybe I’m being biased but I felt in the fifth round, the reason why you didn’t win is because he showboated his way to winning that. He acted like the victor while you were tired. That’s why I feel he basically took it from you because you let him. But I felt you won.’
“Because you look at damage and this and that, but when it comes to presence, he definitely got that. The actual damage that he did was nothing compared to what Umar did. He did more. But again, [Merab] showed 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.”
Dvalishvili will move on to his next title defense, which will be a rematch against Sean O’Malley. “The Machine” defeated “Suga” back in Sept. 2024 to capture the 135-pound gold. They will collide against on June 7 inside the Prudential Center in Newark.
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