"'Call me anytime' *walks away" - Fans react as things get heated between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov ahead of UFC 311 presser

Merab Dvalishvili will make the first defense of his UFC bantamweight title at UFC 311 against No.2-ranked Umar Nurmagomedov. The two have been beefing on social media for some time now and nearly came into blows at the UFC 311 pre-fight presser today.

While doing his interviews backstage, Dvalishvili caught a glimpse of Nurmagomedov a few meters away, and the two started trading words. The champion could be heard saying, "Come here, I'm gonna slap your a**," while the challenger said, "Call me anytime."

ESPN MMA shared the incident on Instagram:

Fans are reacting in various ways in the comments section, with @tony_has_died saying:

“'Call me anytime' *walks away"

Meanwhile, @muneermohammadi said:

"Merab looks nervous 😂"

Comments on the post. [Image credit: @espnmma on Instagram]

Here are more comments:

More comments on the post. [Image credit: @espnmma on Instagram]

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Merab Dvalishvili sheds more light on near-altercation with Umar Nurmagomedov backstage

During the UFC 311 press conference, the first question thrown at Merab Dvalishvili was about the verbal altercation. It turns out that the Georgian UFC champion didn't like how the younger Nurmagomedov was attacking him online.

When asked if the bout with 'Young Eagle' is personal now, 'The Machine' said:

"Of course, it's personal. Because every time I see him [Nurmagomedov], I give him my respect. I shake his hand. I even [told] him that I'm going to fight him one day. And now he starts [talking] trash online. And real men don't do this, you know. So okay, it's a personal [fight] for me, yeah."

Dvalishvili then accused Nurmagomedov of jumping the line and getting a title shot despite not doing enough to deserve it. To this, the challenger responds with:

"Kai Asakura [is] fighting for the [UFC flyweight] title. Debut fight. Who cares? Who cares about deserve or not deserve."

At this point, Dvalishvili started shouting at Nurmagomedov, telling him to "be a man first," going back to his disdain for the Dagestani's trash talk online. 'Young Eagle' cooly replied by saying he was merely describing the champion's behavior.

Watch their exchanges here (7:41):