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The three-headed saga still persists at the top of the UFC bantamweight division, even with a new champion being crowned at Noche UFC 306. Less than one month after Merab Dvalishvili's title win over Sean O'Malley, the two are still chirping back and forth on social media with Umar Nurmagomedov also in the mix.
Dvalishvili re-sparked his rivalry with O'Malley with a tweet on Sept. 27 offering 'Sugar' a rematch in November after the latter claimed he won their fight despite officially losing. The now-former champion declined the offer, citing his upcoming surgery on Oct. 3 and instructed 'The Machine' to defend the belt against "Umnar."
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Despite the seemingly disrespectful spelling, O'Malley was clearly referencing top contender Nurmagomedov, who was shown on screen in The Sphere after Dvalishvili won the belt. Nurmagomedov took exception to his misspelled name and clapped back with his own response.
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'The Young Eagle' called O'Malley "mediocre" while correcting him, commenting:
"Just 4 letters mediocrity"
With Dvalishvili just winning the belt on Sept. 14, his first title defense has not been booked but is almost unanimously expected to be against Nurmagomedov. The Georgian has campaigned for former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo instead to be his next opponent but has not appeared to convince the matchmakers.
Umar Nurmagomedov's last win
While some fans are unimpressed with the lack of "big" wins on the resume of Umar Nurmagomedov, the younger cousin of former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is coming off the biggest win of his career. In his first main event, the Dagestani put forth an impressive performance, shutting down and thoroughly beating former interim title challenger Cory Sandhagen.
Merab Dvalishvili often points out that the win is Nurmagomedov's only victory over a ranked opponent but 'The Young Eagle' definitively showed his elite skills in the fight, winning at least four of the five rounds on all three judges' scorecards.
Aside from Sean O'Malley, Nurmagomedov also has arguably the most name value of any challenger in the bantamweight division due to his family name and popularity in the Middle East.
