Coach nearly pulled Merab Dvalishvili from Umar Nurmagomedov fight due to staph and open wound

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili defeated Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311. According to Dvalishvili's coach, he nearly pulled the 34-year-old out from the fight because he was suffering from a staph infection.

Dvalishvili was two rounds down against Nurmagomedov before putting in a masterful performance and winning the last three rounds. The 135-pound kingpin outwrestled and outstruck the Russian and his cardio levels were much higher than Nurmagomedov's.

In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Dvalishvili's coach said:

"I think Umar was going to be the touhest fight for Merab at the time. We beat them and they came out like, 'Oh I was injured, I'm this, I'm that'. Well Merab was half dead for that fight. He had an open wound, had a staph infection, he was on all kinds of antibiotics. If it was up to me, I would have pulled him out from that fight."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's coach's comments below:

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When Aljamain Sterling fired back at UFC CEO Dana White for Merab Dvalishvili controversy

Merab Dvalishvili's training partner and close friend Aljamain Sterling came to the Georgian's defense ahead of his title fight against Sean O'Malley at UFC 306.

Notably, UFC CEO Dana White was upset at rumors floating around about Dvalishvili's facial cut injury. Sterling fired back at White, writing on X:

"Everyone is making a much bigger deal over 'the little cut,' even the boss. Merab shares his stories of training camp, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and people LOVE him for it. There’s nothing 'stupid' about it, period. He’s training and will show up on Sept. 14, as he always does. Is this about betting lines?? Is it about a fight cancellation?? Respectfully, this reaction was a bit over the top, IMHO."

Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below:

Despite injury rumors, Dvalishvili went on to beat O'Malley via unanimous decision to win the bantamweight title.