Merab Dvalishvili reveals REAL reason that triggered December backstage altercation with Umar Nurmagomedov: "I wanted to punch his face"

Merab Dvalishvili recently opened up about his backstage confrontation with Umar Nurmagomedov last month and explained what triggered him to get into his upcoming opponent's face.

Dvalishvili will face Nurmagomedov in a co-main bantamweight title fight at UFC 311 this month at the Intuit Dome in California. The two men have no love for one another and have been verbally attacking each other on social media and in interviews in the build-up to their fight.

Their rivalry peaked at the UFC 311 presser last month, where they almost got into an altercation backstage and had to be separated by the security detail.

In a recent interview with Kevin Iole, Dvalishvili explained what led him to get into Nurmagomedov's face at the UFC 311 press conference and said:

"Right before the press conference, I was doing interviews in the arena, and I saw Umar. I asked him, 'Why did you disrespect me?' and he shocked me with his answer. 'Because I wanted, what you going to do about it?' and that time I wanted to punch his face... I was mad the whole time. I wanted to really punch him."

Catch Merab Dvalishvili's comments below (3:22):

---

Merab Dvalishvili vows to "humble" Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311

Merab Dvalishvili is confident about beating Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 later this month and recently promised to "humble" the Dagestani bantamweight. 'The Machine' also slammed Nurmagomedov as a "spoiled little baby" and claimed he's been disrespected.

In an interview with The Schmo, Dvalishvili shared his prediction for the UFC 311 co-main event fight and said:

"I'm just going to make him humble. I think Umar is spoiled little baby. He's been disrespectful... I don't want to talk. I just want to do it, you know? January 18, I'm just going to prove it. I'm working really hard, and you guys know, every time I fight against top contenders, I make them look easy. So, I think I will do the same again."

Catch Merab Dvalishvili's comments below (1:30):