Umar Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili have been going back and forth on twitter for weeks now. However, fans seem to think that it’s actually his manager Ali Abdelaziz who’s subbing in for Nurmagomedov.
The Georgian has been very critical of ‘Young Eagle’ vying for the title after winning against Cory Sandhagen. Dvalishvili does not think he deserves the title shot after having just one win against a top 15 fighter.
In response to this, the Dagestani fighter tweeted out saying the title contender was thinking too much about him.
Fans were quick to point out that it was probably Ali Abdelaziz who is tweeting for Umar since his trash talking skills aren’t really known to be that developed at this point.
“Everyone saying 10-7 Umar It’s literally Ali”
Everyone saying 10-7 Umar
It’s literally Ali
— Stafs (@OzcenkMustafa) September 6, 2024
This fan tweeted out as if he was talking to Ali Abdelaziz himself, and not Umar Nurmagomedov,
“Cook him ali”
Cook him ali
— Fright (@frightmma) September 6, 2024
One fan praised the manager for working on his English for the Merab Dvalishvili call out,
“Ali your English is getting better”
Ali your English is getting better
— PirateMMA (@PirateMMA1) September 6, 2024
Another fan presumed that it was Ali doing the talking and not ‘Young Eagle’ himself,
“Damn Ali”
Damn Ali
— Gabriel Salazar (@Gabriel68494399) September 6, 2024
This fan was left wondering whether the manager has a hold of Nurmagomedov’s X account too,
“Did Ali get ahold of your account too?”
Did Ali get ahold of your account too?
— Riley (@Riley27024230) September 6, 2024
Now, Umar Nurmagomedov believes he deserves the title shot next and to be fair to him, he beat the guy who would have had that shot following the Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili fight.
But Dvalishvili does not see it that way. The Georgian believes there’s another fighter who deserves it more than him.
Dvalishvili prefers Figueiredo over Umar
Dvalishvili is looking to dethrone Sean O’Malley on September 15 at The Sphere. Now, that’s a tough ask in itself for anyone but the Georgian has already started planning his first title defense.
With Umar Nurmagomedov constantly calling him out, Dvalishvili had to make it clear in a recent interview with Shak Fu MMA that the ‘Young Eagle’ would not be getting the title shot next if he becomes champion,
“Figueiredo deserves to fight for the belt…He respectfully called me out. He has a bigger name [than Umar Nurmagomedov], and I’d like to fight him. [As for] Umar Nurmagomedov, I’m not interested”
⚡️Merab Dvalishvili thinks Deiveson Figueiredo deserves a title shot over Umar Nurmagomedov.
‘[Deiveson] Figueiredo beat three tough guys. He beat a former champion Cody Garbrandt. He dominated a former title challenger, Chito Vera. He respectfully called me out. He has a bigger… pic.twitter.com/McO22I7JIM
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) September 5, 2024
According to Dvalishvili, a fight againstDeiveson Figueiredo would be bigger than fighting Nurmagomedov since he believes the Brazilian has done more in the division to warrant getting an opportunity at UFC gold.
And to be fair to Dvalishvili, no body can contest that. The Brazilian mixed martial artist is currently operating on a 3 match win streak and has lost only thrice in his 18 fights here at the UFC. Compared to these numbers, Umar still has a long way to go before he should be able to get to top of the ladder.
