"No excuses” - Umar Nurmagomedov’s coach shares cryptic response to injury concerns prior to UFC 311 

Umar Nurmagomedov admitted shortly before his UFC 311 title fight was announced that he had suffered a broken arm. His statement came in November 2024 while discussing his ideal return date, with the Dagestani having shared that he would not be ready to fight in January.

But following UFC 311's announcement, which takes place on Jan. 18, Nurmagomedov stated that he had fully recovered from the injury. The title challenger's change of tune caused some fans to believe there to be something left unsaid by 'Young Eagle', leading to continued speculation about his fitness.

The longtime coach of Nurmagomedov, Javier Mendez, was recently asked to share an update on his student's health ahead of UFC 311. Mendez was interviewed by Shakiel Mahjouri, where he said this:

"The way I look at it, we're sparring great, everything's going great in sparring. Listen, no excuses. We're going to fight. We're going to fight and we're ready to fight, no matter what happens. Everything is going to go our way and no matter what happens, no excuses. If we're not ready to fight, we shouldn't fight. But we're ready to fight."

Watch Javier Mendez discuss Umar Nurmagomedov's injury concern below (10:05):

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Merab Dvalishvili slams Umar Nurmagomedov for "faking" injury ahead of UFC 311

Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov have shared a fiery build-up to their UFC 311 co-main event clash for the bantamweight title. 'The Machine' defeated Sean O'Malley at Noche UFC 306 in September to win the belt, after which Nurmagomedov, who was sat in the front row, was shown on the big screen.

'Young Eagle' had defeated Cory Sandhagen in a title eliminator bout at UFC Abu Dhabi the month prior and was the official number one contender. However, Dvalishvili remained adamant that the Dagestani did not deserve a title fight.

The bantamweight champion named several other fighters who he felt deserved it more, leading to Nurmagomedov accusing the Georgian of being afraid to face him. The accusation pushed Dvalishvili over the edge, who threatened to slap his upcoming opponent if he did not apologize.

The 34-year-old has now shared an accusation of his own towards 'Young Eagle' during a recent interview with MMA Fighting. He said this:

"He's a bulls**t guy. I'm not buying his bulls**t... His injury. Like, he has little injury in his arm. I had injury, big injury, but I don't mention this. I'm not bringing it up this one... I saw he was punching bags very good when he arrived in Vegas."

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