The Bantam weight champion not only wanted to beat his first challenger, he wanted to make him humble.
Although the Co-Main event of UFC 311 was a closely disputed fight over five rounds, Merab Dvalishvili Umar Nurmagomedov was able to hand over his first loss.
The cousin of Nurmagomedov, the great Khabib Nurmagomedov, watched while the unbeaten run of the Challenger came to an end after an incredible rally of 'The Machine'.
Many believed that the matchup would be difficult to call and that turned out to be justified after the performances of both men.
After he had passed the man who, according to many, was waiting for the champion, Dvalishvili now focuses his attention back to Sean O'Malley with whom he is confronted in a rematch on UFC 316.
Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG
Javier Mendez believes that the show boating of Merab Dvalishvili has influenced the jury members on UFC 311
In the first two rounds of the Co-Main event on January 18, Umar Nurmagomedov saw the lead on two of the three score cards to bring his opponent into a difficult position.
Merab Dvalishvili had to stand up strong in the second half of the fight and his ruthless gas tank allowed him to do that exactly.
Judges Chris Leben and Michael Bell had it 2-2 and entered the fifth, where the champion could continue his momentum in a close round to win the fight through scorecards from 48-47, 49-46 and 48-47.
In a recent episode of the Javier & Moshow, the Nurmagomedov coach gave his thoughts about where his hunter lost the game.
Javier Mendez does not believe that Dvalishvili did considerably more than the challenger in the final round to get away with the victory.
Instead, he thinks it was the showboating and body language of the champion that influenced the jury members to give the impression that he won the fight.
Nurmagomedov was considerably delayed during the fight, while Dvalishvili continued to fight at a rapid pace with a smile on his face.
'I told Umar, the reason why you didn't win is in the fifth round because he [Merab] Showboated his way to win that – as if he behaved like the victor when you were tired – and that's why I feel that he actually decreased it from you because you allowed him. When it comes to presence, he [Merab] I certainly have that.
“The actual damage he did was nothing compared to what Umar did. He showed that:” I am the winner, I am the winner, “and Umar couldn't stop him to show that. I can see how the jury members are influenced.”
Merab Dvalishvili did the same against Sean O'Malley
Merab Dvalishvili fought in a similar way when he won the title of Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 306.
Although this is simply his personality instead of being a tactic to influence the jury members, it often gives the impression that 'the machine' dictates the competition.
Dvalishvili defeated O'Malley with exactly the same score cards and won the fight 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47.
Despite how close two of these scores are, many fans will remember the moments when the challenger seemed to do what he wanted when he wanted, making it seemed like he was completely dominant, even if O'Malley came in relatively close to holding his title with just one round.
Comments