Merab Dvalishvili questions Umar Nurmagomedov's quick rise in title race: "Because he's Khabib's cousin"

Merab Dvalishvili has not entered the octagon since February, when he defeated Henry Cejudo via unanimous decision at UFC 298 to earn his tenth consecutive win. The victory also earned him the first undisputed bantamweight title opportunity of his career as 'The Machine' is set to challenge Sean O'Malley at UFC 306 this weekend.

While Umar Nurmagomedov has just one win against a ranked opponent - his unanimous decision victory over Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ABC 7 last month - he appears to be in line to face the winner of the bout. The No.1-ranked bantamweight recently claimed that 'Young Eagle' is being quickly pushed because he is the cousin of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Speaking to Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, Dvalishvili stated:

"Umar is a good fighter, we all know this, but he's fought nobody from top-15 and now, of course, UFC gives him gift - No.2 Cory Sandhagen to if he wins, he's right there. If he lost, he will be top-five or something. He still broke top-five so now he wins and now he's right there. He's now been disrespectful. He's calling Sean O'Malley, he's calling me. Bro, give us respect and let us fight and chill out a little bit."

He continued:

"You don't fight nobody and now you just got here because your last name is Nurmagomedov - because you're Khabib's cousin. If you ask them, they don't like trash talk, but they talk trash and they're acting like they're tough when it's in front of cameras. Good for him, but he has to grow up and he has to be more [of a] man. He has to respect fighters here. We've been here a long time and he's acting a little bit disrespectful."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments on Umar Nurmagomedov below:

Dvalishvili added that he believes the younger Nurmagomedov was pushed due to his relationship with the UFC Hall of Famer. He claimed the No.2-ranked bantamweight has to be humble, while claiming he should beat another ranked opponent.

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Merab Dvalishvili claims Umar Nurmagomedov is not deserving of a title shot

Umar Nurmagomedov may have staked his claim to the next bantamweight title shot with his unanimous decision victory over Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ABC 7. Merab Dvalishvili recently shared that he believes there is another bantamweight more deserving of the opportunity.

Speaking to Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, 'The Machine' picked Deiveson Figueiredo as the division's most worthy contender, stating:

"I think next title fight Deiveson Figueiredo deserves to fight for the belt. He beat one former champion in this weight class, one title challenger and he beat Rob Font. And Figueiredo is a former champion and he has a big name and he deserves it because Umar, he only beat Cory Sandhagen from top-15. Only one guy he beat from top-15. Why does he deserve to fight for the belt?"

He added:

"I don't think he deserves to fight for the belt. That's my opinion. That's my true answer. Figueiredo deserves it more, if you want my opinion about that. Umar doesn't deserve to fight for the belt because we all know he was fighting nobody and he got a fight with No.2. Why does he deserve it? Figueiredo deserves it more."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments on Umar Nurmagomedov below:

Figueiredo has been impressive, with three consecutive victories since making his bantamweight debut last December. Despite this, all signs point to Nurmagomedov, who is now ranked second in the division, receiving the next title opportunity after his victory over Cory Sandhagen.