Merab Dvalishvili is apparently dealing with an injury ahead of UFC 311.
The UFC bantamweight champion will defend his title against 18-0 star Umar Nurmagomedov on January 18 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
On Monday, Merab Dvalishvili went viral when he shared footage from outside the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, which he said he did not have access to.
'The Machine' blamed Nurmagomedov in an angry tirade, citing an injury that required treatment just three weeks before his first UFC title defense after dethroning Sean O'Malley at UFC 306 in September.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Merab Dvalishvili has fans worried due to injury
Merab Dvalishvili's injury Easter Egg went over most fans' heads as they focused on the near-collision between two bitter rivals who had been fighting for months.
However, a few people brought up the confession in Dvalishvili's comments section.
“I'm standing here in front of the UFC PI and security won't let me in because they said, 'Umar Nurmagomedov is in,' and they're protecting him,” Dvalishvili said on Instagram.
“Don't worry guys, I'm not going to crush him before the fight. But January 18 is a different story. I can't compete in UFC PI because I was going to get treatment for my injury, I had to sign some cards and I had to have lunch with my friends.
“What difference does it make? I'm going to crush this man for all the disrespect, all the lies he said.
“You better show up, Umar. Okay, today you're protected. Don't worry, I'm not going to hit you before the fight. No one will protect you on January 18th.”
One fan commented: “What injury?? Were you injured before your fight?
Another said: “TREATMENTS FOR AN INJURY.”
Someone else speculated: “A built-in excuse for when it gets vandalized.”
Dana White promises big things in 2025
Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov will kick off the year 2025, but UFC CEO Dana White has promised that there will be much bigger fights in the next twelve months.
Right now, his main goal is to create a heavyweight unification fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, which he believes could be the biggest fight in the company's history.
White recently guaranteed '100 percent' that Jones and Aspinall will meet in the Octagon in the near future.
The MMA mogul also teased another “crazy” fight currently taking place behind the scenes.
“I expect a lot of big fights,” White said after his final show of 2024.
“I have something in the works right now that will drive you crazy, you would all just be running around.
“I have something in the works that you will never see coming before 2025, that literally started coming together last night.
“Yes, fun things are coming.”
Fans still don't know what that fight is. For now, they're just hoping that the UFC 311 co-main event goes off without a hitch following Dvalishvili's admission.
Related posts
Comments