Merab Dvalishvili confesses he accepted UFC 311 fight against Umar Nurmagomedov despite "serious" injury: "It was affecting my training"

Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has disclosed that he accepted his UFC 311 title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov while dealing with a significant injury. Dvalishvili, who captured the belt from Sean O’Malley at UFC 306, initially hoped for a March return to fully recover.

However, the UFC expedited the matchup to accommodate Nurmagomedov’s training schedule ahead of Ramadan.

Speaking about his decision at the recent media scrum, Dvalishvili explained:

“Originally I wanted to come back in March, like after six months. Especially I mean my title fight first time and I wanted to enjoy it. I was in Vegas, because Aljo [Sterling] was fighting Movsar Evloev and training and I was also dealing with some injury. But once I hear UFC needs me I step up and like Dana said, yes and I go to office and I said okay. I will step up, I'm a company man and let's do it.”

Check out Merab Dvalisvili's comments at the recent media scrum below:

In a previous interview with Bloody Elbow, Dvalishvili admitted that the injury had affected his training, but he reassured his readiness, saying:

“I’m good now, I will post the injury or whatever after the fight, but before, I don’t want to show and panic people. You know, the injury was serious, like, not a joke."

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Aljamain Sterling weighs in on Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311

Aljamain Sterling has expressed confidence in Merab Dvalishvili’s ability to dominate Umar Nurmagomedov in their bantamweight title fight at UFC 311. Sterling highlighted Dvalishvili’s exceptional wrestling skills, which he believes have been underestimated by fans and critics alike.

In a recent YouTube video, Sterling compared Dvalishvili’s skills to Cory Sandhagen, who effectively grappled with Nurmagomedov despite lacking a strong wrestling background. Sterling said:

"If you guys don't think Merab is gonna be ready for these grappling exchanges... If Cory Sandhagen can get ready, a guy who's not coming from a grappling background at all, what do you think Merab is gonna do? You guys just don't know... Of course [Dvalishvili can take Nurmagomedov down]. Umar even said it... I think in the back of his mind, that's playing a little bit of a factor and it's something he's definitely concerned about."

Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below (25:50):