Merab Dvalishvili wants to serve “cocky” Umar Nurmagomedov some humble pie at UFC 311 

Merab Dvalishvili has made it clear that he believes Umar Nurmagomedov, his scheduled opponent for UFC 311 on Jan. 18, has no respect for him. 'The Machine' won the bantamweight title by defeating Sean O'Malley at Noche UFC 306, after which he declared that 'Young Eagle' did not deserve a title shot.

Nurmagomedov defeated Cory Sandhagen in an official UFC bantamweight title eliminator bout the month prior at UFC Abu Dhabi. But the 135-pound champion did not view Nurmagomedov's win over 'The Sandman' as enough to earn a coveted crack at the UFC title.

The title challenger even accused Dvalishvili of avoiding a clash with him, which served to make the Georgian even more frustrated than before.

During a recent interview with ufcespanol, the 33-year-old shared a preview of his plans for UFC 311, saying:

"Fight day, I will do my best to beat this undefeated guy. Make him humble, because I feel he's just cocky. He's never been defeated before, he's acting like no one wants to fight with him and [that] he's something untouchable. I'll show him the real level."

He continued:

"I met him a couple of months ago, maybe a year ago. I had a very friendly conversation with him. I was very respectful, and he told me, 'You are old. It's now my time. You've got to go.' I'm like, 'Bro what are you talking about?'"

Check out Merab Dvalishvili discuss Umar Nurmagomedov below (20:55):

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Umar Nurmagomedov can "show off" against Merab Dvalishvili, says Cory Sandhagen

UFC 311 will be headlined by an epic clash between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan, while Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov go to war in the co-main event.

The pay-per-view co-headliner was recently broken down by a former opponent of Nurmagomedov's, Cory Sandhagen. 'The Sandman' has been one of the division's top contenders for several years, and other than his loss to 'Young Eagle', he has only lost to former or future UFC bantamweight champions.

During a recent interview with MiddleEasy, he said:

"I think that Umar probably will win. I just can't really see a path for Merab to win. I don't think that he's going to be able to strike with [Nurmagomedov]. But I also don't think that he'll be able to take him down and control him like he was able to do against O'Malley... Umar is a sniper man... Fighting a guy like Merab will be a good opportunity for him to show off a little bit."

Check out Cory Sandhagen discuss Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov below (11:20):