Merab Dvalishvili is preparing to defend his bantamweight title at UFC 311 on January 18 in California. He will face Umar Nurmagomedov, who has never lost a fight. Although Nurmagomedov is a tough opponent, Dvalishvili feels he hasn’t earned a shot at the belt yet.
Aiming for a Strong Finish
Dvalishvili is ready to win in any way he can, but he would like to finish the fight early because he feels disrespected. He has worked hard to get to this point and is determined to prove himself again after becoming champion just a few months ago.
“Umar is a good fighter. It’s a big challenge, but he don’t earn it like the rest of us,” Dvalishvili said. “We all know we worked hard to get here. I don’t get anything easy, but Umar someone gets easy. He just complains all the time, nobody wants to fight him. But there are so many good fighters.”
“He fought only [Corey] Sandhagen, no wrestling. I guess he’s using this is excuse, he beat the No. 2 guy. Now, he’s here,” Dvalishvili continued. “He just don’t earn it like how real UFC fighters should earn it. He’s just cocky.”
“The fight will be really tough. This is a big, big challenge for me because it’s a new, new face and he’s a good fighter,” Dvalishvili said. “He has good kicking, good striking, good wrestling and it’s a new, new challenge.”
“I want to give people what they want and I want to give the UFC what the UFC wants. And I’m tired of listening to Umar’s disrespect,” Dvalishvili added.
“It’s going to be a tough fight, good fight. Of course I’m going to be looking for a finish. To win against a top opponent and change his zero to one loss, that would be good,” he said. “I’m not fighting somebody like an easy opponent. It’s going to be Umar Nurmagomedov and a win against him, I’ll take it. It doesn’t matter.”
Drama Before the Fight
There has been some drama leading up to the fight. Dvalishvili has compared himself to famous fighters like Mike Tyson and Jon Jones because he is defending his title only a few months after winning it. The fast pace of the UFC makes it clear that things can change quickly in this sport.
“The best way now is I should just stay busy and take fights and that’s it because I was gonna enjoy some time but now I feel like I’m Conor [McGregor] a lot of drama comes even Jon [Jones] and like, Mike [Tyson] used to get a lot of drama but it’s all good,” he added.
Training Setbacks
Dvalishvili also shared a funny story about his training for this fight. He was not allowed to train at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas because Nurmagomedov’s team was already there, and the UFC wanted to avoid any problems. Despite these distractions, Dvalishvili is focused and ready to take on his opponent.
Now all eyes are on UFC 311 to see if Merab can defend his title and beat the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov. Fans are excited to see how this fight will unfold.
