Merab Dvalishvili recently found himself in the crosshairs of Sean O’Malley, with the former UFC champion claiming the current bantamweight titleholder is scared of fighting Umar Nurmagomedov. Speaking on the Timbo Sugarshow, ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley discussed the man who claimed the title from him and the man who many think should face Dvalishvili next, Umar Nurmagomedov.
O’Malley and Nurmagomedov are positioned at number one and number two in the contender hierarchy at 135 pounds. When discussing his viewpoint on how he thinks Dvalishvili sees Nurmagomedov, O’Malley said, “Merab is absolutely s****ing-himself terrified of Umar [Nurmagomedov]. He doesn’t want to fight Umar.” A quote from this show was posted to the MMA Junkie Instagram page, with the reigning bantamweight champion responding to O’Malley’s words: “Lol”.
Merab Dvalishvili Does Not Think That Umar Nurmagomedov Has Earned a Title Shot
Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov seem like they’re on a collision course with one another, but the former does not seem to think the latter has earned a title shot. The 33-year-old titleholder articulated this on his X page recently when he outlined the little accomplishments of Nurmagomedov. Merab Dvalishvili spoke highly of former champion Petr Yan and how Yan has bested multiple former champions or top contenders such as Jose Aldo, Cory Sandhagen, and most recently Deiveson Figueiredo.
Dvalishvili used this to outline how Nurmagomedov’s lone statement win was against the aforementioned Sandhagen which the reigning champion described as a gifted win for the Russian contender. Dvalishvili also highlighted how he served as the backup fighter for the rematch between Sean O’Malley and Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. The champion then claimed Nurmagomedov turned down the chance to serve as backup fighter to Dvalishvili’s title bid against O’Malley.
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