Brendan Schaub simply cannot believe that despite Merab Dvalishvili’s record inside the octagon, the odd makers had him placed as an underdog against Umar Nurmagomedov for UFC 311. Schaub believes the bantamweight champion was unfairly treated because of Umar’s relationship with the great Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The former UFC heavyweight contender’s frustration with the oddsmakers also stems from the fact that Merab was sitting on an 11-fight win streak going into UFC 311. The Georgian fighter has not only faced but dominated some of the biggest names in the sport, including Sean O’Malley, Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, and Jose Aldo.
“You put Merab as a f*cking dog? How dare you?… It’s because he hangs out with Khabib!”
In the months leading up to the fight, Merab had been rather reluctant to face Umar, citing relative inexperience from the Dagetsani challenger. Merab believed that Umar had only gotten an opportunity to fight at the top due to his famous last name.
He had also offered to fight other world-class fighters like Yan, O’Malley, and Deiveson Figueredo. The champion had however been trolled for the same. A huge chunk of MMA’s core audience had trolled him because they thought he was afraid of Umar and was making excuses to avoid fighting a Nurmagomedov.
In response, Merab had called Umar a ‘spoilt baby’ and vowed to teach him a lesson at UFC 311. And so he did. Despite putting up a spirited performance, Umar had no answer for Merab’s endless cardio and simply faded away in front of the champion’s relentless pacing.
What made Merab’s first title defense so impressive was that he was quite obviously pushed into it by a fervent fan base just 4 months after actually winning the title. Merab wasn’t even completely healthy going into the fight.
Merab: The Machine
The champion admitted he’d been nursing a nasty injury leading up to the fight—a cut on his shin that had become infected and significantly disrupted his training. He even had to hide it from the athletic commission due to the fear of not being allowed to compete.
“In November, I got big cuts on my leg….It was taking so long to heal up, and then it got infected.”
Merab Dvalishvili shows off the injuries he was dealing with heading into #UFC311:
“In November I got big cuts on my leg. … It was taking so long to heal up and then it got infected.” pic.twitter.com/ORT7mC4Ycy
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) January 19, 2025
The infection sidelined him for weeks, and he confessed to feeling wasteful and frustrated as the fight drew closer. However, what pushed him to persevere was hearing Umar suggest that Merab might pull out of the fight.
Much like Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, he brushed past the blood and the gore that had been inflicted upon him and fought with the singular goal of proving a point.
Having the kind of cardio that Merab put on display that night while recovering from an infection is probably why Merab is nicknamed ‘The Machine’!
