"Short man energy"- MMA X reacts to Merab Dvalishvili "G checking" surging bantamweight star in the lead-up to UFC 311

Merab Dvalishvili is taking no prisoners when it comes to confronting fighters who have spoken about him in a negative light. 'The Machine' is set to face Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 for the bantamweight title, and has labeled the title challenger as disrespectful for his comments ahead of the bout.

But Dvalishvili took issue with another bantamweight who will appear at UFC 311, Payton Talbott, for comments made by the American in 2024. During an interview with ESPN, Talbott was asked some quick-fire questions and shared short responses when given a UFC bantamweight fighter's name.

When given Dvalishvili's name, he said:

"Dumb. Dumber than a box of rocks."

Check out Payton Talbott's comments below:

Dvalishvili came across the surging contender at the fighter hotel ahead of UFC 311, where he confronted Talbott about his comments. He said:

"Next time don't talk trash about me, okay? Yeah yeah, you said I'm something-dumb or something."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili confronting Payton Talbott below:

The Georgian's actions drew various responses from fans, some of which labeled the champion as too "sensitive" whilst others sided with him confronting the unranked contender.

A fan wrote:

"Not sure we've seen a more sensitive champion before."

Another fan commented:

"Merab out here G checking the young bucks, I like that."

A fan wrote:

"Merab is normally pretty emotional, but Umar has this dude in a blender this fight week."

Check out the collage of reactions below:

Screenshots of fan reactions to Merab Dvalishvili confronting Payton Talbott

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Merab Dvalishvili and Payton Talbott squash beef following confrontation

Merab Dvalishvili and Payton Talbott were able to settle their differences following a prior interaction in which the bantamweight titleholder confronted Talbott over comments he made about the Georgian.

But while signing posters for UFC 311, 'The Machine' was able to squash the beef with his fellow bantamweight in a heartwarming scene.

A snippet of the interaction was uploaded to X by @upfrontmma, where Dvalishvili could be heard, saying:

"You were like, 'Dumbest motherf**ker.' Or something."

Talbott replied by saying:

"Oh, the rock thing? Dumb as a rock. Yeah, my bad. I told the story after, but."

'The Machine' added:

"I'm like, 'Why?' This guy wants to fight in the street, or if you wanna fight here, I'm here."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili and Payton Talbott squash their beef below: