Khabib Nurmagomedov has had enough of all the slander from Merab Dvalishvili regarding his cousin Umar. After Merab Dvalishvili and others implied that Umar was being favored because of his famous name and family ties to Khabib, “The Eagle” responded with sharp criticism and a reminder of Umar’s spotless record.
The former UFC champion knows what it takes to make your way up to a title shot and he instilled these values in Umar. So, in an interview uploaded by Red Corner MMA, ‘The Eagle’ aimed at Merab’s behavior, suggesting that success has gone to the Georgian fighter’s head.
“When he become champion, he cannot deal with this….Umar is 18-0 and he is six win streak in UFC..I think Umar deserve…On January 18th, Umar will show why Merab is nervous.”
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The upcoming bout on January 18 is shaping up to be a statement fight for Umar, and if Khabib’s words are any indication, Merab will have his hands full.
The fight camp is already on, and with the likes of Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo joining in, ‘The Eagle‘ is having a lot of fun.
Mighty Mouse impresses Khabib with ground game
To ensure Umar is fully prepared for his upcoming fight against Merab, Khabib has enlisted the help of some of the biggest names in MMA, including Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Henry Cejudo.
Known for their elite skills and fight IQ, the two legends have joined the camp to fine-tune Umar’s game plan and help him tackle one of the toughest challenges of his career.
During a training session, Khabib was particularly impressed by Johnson’s grappling as he went toe-to-toe with one of the team members. Watching the action closely, Khabib couldn’t help but cheer for the former champion.
“Nice, Demetrious, let’s go legend,” he exclaimed, showing his respect and admiration for Johnson’s technique and ability to push the team to another level.
Khabib Nurmagomedov was impressed with Demetrious Johnson’s grappling ability:
“Nice Demetrious. Let’s go legend”
@MightyMouse pic.twitter.com/8cOXfv4MvT
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) December 16, 2024
Hopefully, Umar too picks up from these legends, goes out there at UFC 311, and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he does indeed belong in the championship talks. Merab and his teammates like former champion Aljamain Sterling have now done multiple interviews claiming that he doesn’t belong on the top of that hill.
They have even asked him to go back to the drawing board and defeat a few top contenders to get his shot at the tile, even though his last win was against #1 contender Cory Sandhagen. So, not only is this an opportunity to win UFC gold for Umar, it’s also an important junction in his UFC career that will establish him as a big name independent of his famous cousin.
