‘After Lance Armstrong’: Merab Dvalishvili’s Cardio Touted as Best in Pro Sports by Former Fighter

Despite being called out for allegedly wanting to duck Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311, the bantamweight champion put up a power-packed performance to defend his title. Following that performance, former UFC heavyweight fighter Brendan Schaub congratulated Merab and compared his undying cardio to Lance Armstrong.  

To his credit, Schaub had predicted as much before the fight about Merab winning.

“Merab’s cardio is the best we’ve ever seen. Outside Lance Armstrong, who was on all of the sauce, this is the best cardio you’ve ever seen in professional sports,” Schaub said on The Schuab Show.

Merab’s opponent, Umar, is known for his impressive pace and superior technical skills but struggled to keep up as the fight wore on. Schaub noted how Merab didn’t just maintain his energy, he seemed to get stronger with every passing round. By the end, there was no question who the superior fighter was.

Comparing him to Armstrong might be accurate but definitely controversial. Before he became infamous for doping, the American had won 7 Tour de France titles from 1999 to 2005, which remains a world record.

Despite Umar winning the first two rounds on skills, ‘The Machine’ kept pressing him until one of them got tired from just dancing around. By the end, the champion was just showboating and taking him down at will, just to entertain the crowd. 

Umar, of course, claimed that he had been rendered without some of his trademark weapons as his hand had been broken from punching during the very first round.

Umar aims to return in style after Merab setback

Since losing the fight, a lot has been said about Umar on social media. Every accusation about being a nepo baby and not deserving the title shot, is being thrown in his face.

But truth be told, Umar should have no reason to be embarrassed. He took on of the best fighters in the world and gave him the toughest challenge of his life.

There is also a running notion among many that he had definitely won the first three rounds and hence should have been declared the winner. He did so despite having broken his hand badly in the very first round. His team also shared a picture of his mangled paw after the conclusion of the event.

‘Umar broke his hands first round no excuse.”

However, Umar is young and is likely to find his way up to a title shot again very soon. Khabib himself chimed in after the fight and urged his cousin to keep his head held high for fighting till the end.

“Umar keep your head up junior. Yesterday you showed that you are one of the best in the world.”

‘The Eagle’ knows that in the greater scheme of things, this was a necessary experience for Umar and he can only get better from here. But one thing is for sure, Umar needs to go back to the drawing board because he simply did not look ready to get dragged into deep waters by the champ.