UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili entered the Octagon on Saturday night fresh off a gruesome leg injury suffered prior to UFC 311.
Merab Dvalishvili out-fought previously undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov in the UFC 311 co-main event in Los Angeles last Saturday. Ahead of his Fight of the Year candidate against Nurmagomedov, in which he overwhelmed the challenger in the later rounds, Dvalishvili suffered a freak injury to his right leg that almost put the fight in serious jeopardy.
As discussed midway through UFC 311 fight week, Dvalishvili entered the cage at less than 100 percent health, dealing with several injuries sustained during camp. He suffered a back injury weeks before UFC 311 and suffered a nasty tear in his right leg that many fans speculated was the result of a staph infection.
While Dvalishvili warned fans about his affected leg ahead of UFC 311, fight week footage failed to capture the full severity of his pre-fight condition. Following his unanimous decision win over Nurmagomedov, Dvalishvili shared images and pictures of his right leg wounds.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Fans react to Merab Dvalishvili's horrific leg injury suffered ahead of UFC 311
As you can see in the versatile Instagram post below, Dvalishvili entered UFC 311 with several wounds on his right leg. Fans had a lot to say about Dvalishvili's injury and his remarkable performance against the previously undefeated Nurmagomedov.
“Dude is an absolute machine, I think I can see bone in the top cut,” one fan wrote on X.
“That's disgusting.”
“Oh my god, that's disgusting.”
“This man is truly a machine.”
“How did he do it.”
“And he still put on a show, respect.”
“What the hell happened to him.”
“Average Merab activities.”
“If he had backed out everyone would be calling him 'chicken', funny how social media works lol.”
“Bro destroyed a Dagestani with one leg.”
Despite his health issues before UFC 311, Dvalishvili put on perhaps the most impressive performance of his career as he entered his first title defense as a modest underdog. He was able to put pressure on Nurmagomedov with his brutal takedown attempts and timely strikes, especially in the championship rounds.
Merab Dvalishvili has fooled the California State Athletic Commission ahead of UFC 311
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Dvalishvili revealed how he disguised his leg injury ahead of UFC 311.
“The cut was still open and took so long to heal, then finally closed during fight week. I was afraid that the committee would not let me fight,” Dvalishvili said. “I did everything from the creams every day, massages and therapies. California has a very strict commission and they check everything on my body. On Thursday the commission man asked me to show him my shin, I lifted my pants on my left leg, showed him, and then he asked me to show him my other leg.
“I showed him my left leg [again]. Who knows? Maybe I could have gotten through it, but I was worried because it looked fresh, but it was a long cut.”
Dvalishvili then explained the cause of his leg injury.
“I was doing cardio training on the stairs and I hit my shin on the stairs,” Dvalishvili said. “A little pain [beforehand]but in battle nothing. It felt good.”
Following the win at UFC 311, Dvalishvili will have plenty of time to fully recover from his injuries and continue his bantamweight title picture. Ahead of a potential rematch with Sean O'Malley, Dvalishvili showed his trademark toughness in the first defense of his title.
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