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Umar Nurmagomedov is not pleased with Merab Dvalishvili's recent dismissal of his prospects as a title challenger.
The Georgian star, who is scheduled to challenge bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley at Noche UFC 306 on Sept. 14, spoke to MMA Junkie about Nurmagomedov. According to Dvalishvili, Nurmagomedov is unworthy of a title shot, regardless of who emerges from Noche UFC 306 as the bantamweight champion.
He scrutinized Nurmagomedov's strength of schedule, highlighting the fact that he hasn't faced much top competition. Naturally, the Dagestani did not take kindly to Dvalishvili's snub, issuing a rebuttal on X/Twitter.
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"Merab just focus on your upcoming fight. Too much Umar in your head. Everybody knows that you don't want to fight me. And honestly I don't care about you, I'm just hunting for the belt. If you win the belt, we talk."
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While Dvalishvili is not yet the bantamweight champion, and he could walk out of Noche UFC 306 still without the title, this is just the latest instance of an undefeated contender being downplayed by a fighter hovering in the title scene.
UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad may also come to mind for some. 'Remember the Name' has opined that Shavkat Rakhmonov, who is unbeaten at 18-0 with 18 finishes, should fight former welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman in a title eliminator to solidify his status as the next number one contender.
Whether Dvalishvili will reassert his stance if he becomes champion remains to be seen. For now, 'The Machine' has highlighted ex-flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo as a more deserving title challenger than 'The Young Eagle'.
Does Merab Dvalishvili have a point about Umar Nurmagomedov?
While Umar Nurmagomedov is currently ranked No. 2 in the UFC bantamweight division, his undefeated record is largely devoid of top 15 wins. In fact, besides his recent victory over former interim bantamweight title challenger Cory Sandhagen, 'The Young Eagle' has not beaten anyone else ranked.
With that, some may assert that it is understandable that Merab Dvalishvili takes issue with him being crowned the next title challenger. Unfortunately for 'The Machine' and even Sean O'Malley, it is not up to either of them who they fight next.
Ultimately, it is up for the UFC to book the bouts.
