Merab Dvalishvili has accused Umar Nurmagomedov of 'cheating' with his route to a shot at UFC gold.
The Russian is undefeated in 18 professional fights, but apart from a win over Corey Sandhagen, his resume is lacking in big names. However, at UFC 311 he will get a shot at Dvalishvili's bantamweight belt in the co-main event.
Both men are said to be causing injuries in the Octagon, with the champion repeatedly claiming he would have preferred a later date.
Merab believes that Umar Nurmagomedov does not deserve the title fight
To earn his way to a UFC title fight, Merab Dvalishvili had to defeat former champions in Petr Yan, Jose Aldo and Henry Cejudo. But for Umar Nurmagomedov, the requirement was just six fights and one ranked opponent to get the same opportunity.
In his role as Stake Ambassador ahead of UFC 311, the champion told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive chat: “I never said he wasn't a good fighter, I say he's a good fighter – but he takes shortcuts, you know?
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
“He's cheating a little bit. Because he didn't fight anyone, he fought a debut guy and then the debut guy, he fought number two, that's a gift and that's a shortcut. That's not how you want to earn your title fight.
'That's not right, in my opinion he was meant to fight one more time. Like maybe against Song Yadong, yeah. But when UFC asked me, I said okay, I'll fight him, but I wanted to fight in February or March. That's what I said.”
Merab Dvalishvili wanted a later date for the first title defense
After winning the title in September at UFC 306 against Sean O'Malley, Dvalishvili expected a long break from competition. He suggested other contenders and a date in February or March, but ultimately accepted Nurmagomedov as his opponent on a January date.
“I was ready to fight and come back after five or six months, as any champion does,” he explained. “They even take more time. But when I said I was going to fight in February or March, Umar started complaining, blaming me and disrespecting me.
“When I said the fight was in February or March, he said the fight was in Australia in February and March was Ramadan. I had no idea, because last year Ramadan fell in May. It's not my problem either – I'm a champion.
“So Umar wanted to fight in January and UFC asked me. Then I went to the UFC and said, OK, I'll take it a step further. I love UFC, so no problem.”
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