Photos and Videos: Rugby team One New Zealand Warriors train with Merab Dvalishvili and others at the UFC PI ahead of their match in Vegas

Merab Dvalishvili is set to defend his bantamweight title for the first time in his UFC career against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311. Ahead of their highly anticipated bout, the 135-pound champion was seen training with a former One NZ Warriors rugby league star.

At the UFC Performance Institute (UFC PI), Dvalishvili was spotted with former One NZ Warriors rugby league star Shaun Johnson. During their interaction, Johnson asked the Georgian fighter whether he had seen a rugby ball and demonstrated a rugby move to him.

To promote the National Rugby League (NRL), UFC Australia & New Zealand shared a post of Dvalishvili with Johnson on Instagram, showcasing the fun and unique crossover between the worlds of MMA and rugby.

Check out some photos of the interaction below:

Photo collage of Merab Dvalishvili training with One NZ Warriors' star. [Image courtesy: @ufcanz on Instagram]

‘The Machine' claimed the bantamweight title in his last fight by dethroning Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 with a dominant unanimous decision victory. Meanwhile, his upcoming opponent, Nurmagomedov, also showcased his skills by defeating Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision last August.

---

Former two-division UFC champion highlights one trick that Umar Nurmagomedov might use against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311

Merab Dvalishvili will face Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311. Recently, former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo shared his thoughts and highlighted one weapon that could give the undefeated fighter an edge.

Cejudo pointed out that Nurmagomedov might use a lead leg teep to maintain distance and prevent Dvalishvili from utilizing his wrestling prowess. He also suggested that Nurmagomedov could set up a knockout with this technique. Cejudo said:

"Some people tend to overlook it, that lead leg teep. To eventually go to the head. But it's not just that, he's also going southpaw with it and then going to the head. And then he'll fake up top boom boom to eventually drop his opponents to get the eventual finish."

He added:

"Could this be one of the keys for Umar Nurmagomedov against Merab Dvalishvili? Everybody's thinking he might come in and wrestle. But who knows, he may use that lead leg that could be the key in order for, one, maybe set it up to get the knockout or, two, just fence him odd and stop him from wrestling."