Merab Dvalishvili accuses Umar Nurmagomedov of "lying" in latest rant, makes opinion clear on potential title fight: "I can’t wait to smash your face"

Merab Dvalishvili recently claimed that Umar Nurmagomedov lied about his next fight. Nurmagomedov had been pushing for a shot at the bantamweight title since his victory over Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi in August, but his pleas had been somewhat put on ice by divisional champion Dvalishvili.

Accusing 'The Machine' of avoiding him, Nurmagomedov managed to secure a matchup with Song Yadong at UFC Tampa on Dec. 14. However, the fight ultimately fell through, as 'Young Eagle' revealed that Yadong was not prepared to compete on that date.

Now, Dvalishvili took to X to allege that Nurmagomedov was lying, asserting that Yadong didn’t withdraw from the fight; rather, the unbeaten Dagestani never signed the contract for the bout. The 145-pound titleholder urged Nurmagomedov to focus on rising through the ranks to earn his championship opportunity:

"Don't be fooled again by the bullsh*t coming out of Umar's lying mouth. Yadong didn't pull out of any fight - he was ready - Umar didn't sign. Keep talking crap - you need to work hard and fight other contenders to be the number one contender. You are a gift from the UFC, as everyone knows, without earning it. I can't wait to smash your face and every lying word that comes out of that mouth when you time comes."

'The Machine' further doubled down on his stance, stating that if the UFC wants him to make his first title defense against Nurmagomedov, he is fully prepared to accept the challenge:

'I said it one hundred times, and I’m gonna say it again - if UFC wants me to fight Umar next, I will fight him!"

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's post below:

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Aiemann Zahabi discusses why Umar Nurmagomedov might encounter difficulties with Merab Dvalishvili

During a recent interview with MMA Canada, Aiemann Zahabi speculated that Umar Nurmagomedov might face challenges in a potential matchup against Merab Dvalishvili.

Zahabi pointed out that Nurmagomedov showed a lack of mental resilience in his fight against Cory Sandhagen, which could prove to be a critical factor in a bout against 'The Machine':

"Did you watch the fight against Umar vs. Cory Sandhagen? One thing that I found about that fight was after round one, he looked kind of nervous. But Khabib did such a good job of being in his corner and telling him, 'It's fine. You're gonna take him down again.'"

He added:

"Because when he first stepped out, Cory did a super good job of rolling, grabbing, you know, defending the wrestling well. Umar didn't just dominate him on the ground. It almost looked like Umar wasn't expecting Cory to be able to defend that well. He kind of looked shell-shocked a bit."

Check out Aiemann Zahabi's comments below (14:01):