Umar Nurmagomedov puzzled Merab Dvalishvili finds him disrespectful, shares eye-opening take on why 'The Machine' has been "ducking" him for so long

Umar Nurmagomedov had a recent sitdown ahead of his UFC 311 co-headliner with Merab Dvalishvili. As he spoke to Brett Okamoto, 'The Young Eagle' expressed confusion over Dvalishvili's persistent claim that he had disrespected him in pursuit of a bantamweight title clash.

While Nurmagomedov acknowledges that he has chirped at Dvalishvili in the past in order to secure a title shot, he also points out that he never, in his opinion, said anything overtly disrespectful. At least nothing to enrage Dvalishvili in the manner that he apparently has.

"We two opponents, you know, like it's little bit emotional, you know? I don't think he's an angry person, I don't think he's a bad person. I don't know why he talking about.. I really don't know why he talking about disrespect. Of course, I tweet, I talking, but I didn't talk, 'You the liar,' or I didn't say really like, 'You're a bad person' or something like that. I talk about fight. I say, 'Hey, Merab. You try to avoid me. You doesn't mention my name. It looks insane.'"

Moreover, Nurmagomedov also mentions Dvalishvili's Noche UFC 306 post-fight interview, when he ignored Joe Rogan's question about a potential title defense with him.

"Everybody talk about that. Just not like me, and when the UFC push him to fight, okay Joe Rogan asked him after his fight when he won belt, Joe Rogan said, 'Next opponent is Umar. What do you think about that?' And he doesn't said nothing. He just said, 'Thank you, Dana White.' And it's not of all hype about he ducking, he try to avoid, it's not because I do this. He do this. It's his mistake."

Check out Umar Nurmagomedov sharing his thoughts on Merab Dvalishvili (1:13):

Dvalishvili has been vocal about his belief that Nurmagomedov is undeserving of a title shot, and even sought to rematch either Sean O'Malley or Petr Yan, two men he dominated with supreme ease.

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Umar Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili had a recent backstage confrontation

During UFC 310 fight week, the UFC held a promotional press conference to generate hype for UFC 311. Following the presser, which featured heated exchanges between Umar Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili, the pair found themselves in a backstage confrontation.

Check out Umar Nurmagomedov's backstage confrontation with Merab Dvalishvili:

While it fortunately never devolved into a physical melee, as security was careful to keep both men from getting too close, it was a tense exchange with Dvalishvili cutting a particularly furious figure.