Merab Dvalishvili remains firm in his stance regarding Umar Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA, 14-2 UFC) successfully defended his bantamweight title by handing Nurmagomedov his first professional loss at UFC 311. He has been vocal about his belief that Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) has been privileged, and he openly roots against him for his upcoming fight.
Nurmagomedov aims to climb back into title contention as he faces Mario Bautista (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) on the main card of UFC 321 this Saturday (Pay-per-view, FX/Disney+/ESPN+). Dvalishvili predicts that his victory over Nurmagomedov will influence the outcome of this fight.
“My prediction for this fight: I think Bautista,” Dvalishvili expressed on UFC Unfiltered. “I mean, it’s a three-round fight. If it’s a five-round fight, then I would give Bautista a better chance. Umar is tricky, but Bautista has a shot.”
“I’ll be bold: I believe I broke Umar, and Bautista can defeat him as well. I’m rooting for Bautista, and hopefully, he will triumph over Umar, setting up a potential matchup between us because that would bring fresh competition to our division. I would welcome a fight against Bautista.”
Dvalishvili is gearing up for his fourth title defense of the year as he prepares to rematch Petr Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in the UFC 323 headliner on December 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Despite Nurmagomedov making his case to Dana White at the UFC 321 press conference, Dvalishvili asserts that a victory over Bautista will not be sufficient to earn him a shot at reclaiming the title.
“If Umar emerges victorious, perhaps one more win,” Dvalishvili remarked. “Then, if we cross paths again, I will break him once more and definitively silence him.”