"He was disrespecting me" - Merab Dvalishvili gets honest about why Umar Nurmagomedov fight was "personal"

Merab Dvalishvili (left) talks Umar Nurmagomedov (right) rivalry. [Images courtesy: Getty Images]
Merab Dvalishvili (left) talks Umar Nurmagomedov (right) rivalry. [Images courtesy: Getty Images]

Merab Dvalishvili recently shared his honest thoughts on Umar Nurmagomedov and explained why he took his fight against the Dagestani grappler personally. Dvalishvili accused Nurmagomedov of being disrespectful before their fight and claimed he was "hyped" because of his decorated cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

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Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov threw down in an exciting bantamweight title clash at UFC 311 in January. While many expected the Dagestani fighter to overwhelm Dvalishvili with his grappling skills, 'The Machine' surprisingly dominated the fight and secured a unanimous decision win.

In the lead-up to the fight, Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov notably engaged in verbal warfare via social media, with the Georgian-born fighter seemingly feeling disrespected. In a recent interview with the NELK Boys, Dvalishvili was asked if he took the Nurmagomedov rivalry personally. He replied:

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"Of course... I always showed him my respect, and as men, we don’t care about anything else; we just want respect... I got here for my work. Umar is a good fighter, but he got pushed because of his cousin, and that hyped him. When he disrespected me, I was mad about that... He was disrespecting me, especially on Twitter and the internet. I was mad about that, and it was personal for sure."
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Merab Dvalishvili shares bold prediction for potential Umar Nurmagomedov rematch

Merab Dvalishvili believes he can "beat the sh*t out" of Umar Nurmagomedov if they share the octagon again. Dvalishvili recently opened up about a potential rematch against the Dagestani fighter and shared a bold prediction.

In the same interview with the NELK Boys (via @ChampRDS on X), Dvalishvili expressed confidence in his skills and said:

"If he deserves a title fight again, if we fought again, I will destroy him. This time, I will beat the sh*t out of him... I won, so I can talk about this. I was injured, my back was killing me, and I had an infection in my leg. That was a very stressful training camp."

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Edited by Nishant Zende.
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