Nurmagomedov Accuses Merab Of Trying To Avoid Him – ‘I Will Smash Him’

Umar Nurmagomedov has called out Merab Dvalishvili for trying to face lower-ranked opposition.
The two will face off at UFC 311 in January. Merab won the UFC Bantamweight Title against Sean O’Malley. UFC 306 was a big occasion, marking the first-ever combat sports event in the area. Dvalishvili put on a clinical display to secure a one-sided unanimous decision win. There was talk over a rematch. But O’Malley suffered a hip injury that required surgery, ending any hopes of that for now. A fight with Umar was soon announced.
Nurmagomedov is undefeated, with a 6-0 record. He is seen as a threat to Merab’s dominance in the divison. He enters the fight with a win against Cory Sandhagen. Merab recently said he plans on fighting four times next year. He named the O’Malley rematch and a bout with Petr Yan as ideal opponents. But Umar took that as a sign of trying to look for a way out and secure easier paydays before taking this fight.
Nurmagomedov Reacts
“I think he just wants to fight with a guy who [he] can beat. It does not mean I 100 percent go inside the cage and smash him. No. He knows, other guys, he will beat [them]. Me? It’s going to be hard. That’s why he tried to be champion a long time. He wants to fight with O’Malley or with Petr Yan or someone else because he knows these guys, easy money. Me? Not.
“For me, he has to go deep waters. For me, it’s going to be a long night. I will not give him takedowns; he will not control me. I have good skills, striking skills, and I can make for him a lot of problems. That’s why. But when we go inside the cage, I will not think he’s scared of me. I will know this is a man who will try to beat me. I am a man who will try to smash him, and it’s going to be a battle,” Umar said
Merab’s Options
Nevertheless, Merab could be forgiven for chasing the most lucrative fights. O’Malley has a huge fanbase, making that a more commercially appealing bout. The manner in which Merab beat him the first time suggests he will find it easier in the rematch. But O’Malley did say he was carrying an injury going into the Merab fight, which has set the narrative to run things back.
The Yan fight will also draw a big audience based on his resurgence. Yan has won his last two fights since losing three in a row. Wins over Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo have put him in the conversation to secure the biggest fights. But a win over Umar is legacy-defining. It is a higher risk, but it has the reward of making him one of the best P4P fighters if he comes out with a win. That is what makes the upcoming fight such an intriguing contest.
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