Merab Dvalishvili’s Nepotism Attack Dismissed as Umar Nurmagomedov Justifies His UFC Title Shot

It is no secret that Umar Nurmagomedov is related to UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov. So naturally, people wonder how much of an influence his last name has in the kind of fights he gets. In fact, Merab Dvalishvili recently claimed that the only reason the bantamweight was being pushed for a title shot was because he is Khabib’s cousin.

According to the Georgian, Cory Sandhagen is the only big-name fighter Umar has taken on as of yet. Hence, for him to get a title shot before facing the rest of the contenders in the division would be nothing short of nepotism.

However, to be fair to the ‘Young Eagle’, he has achieved a decisive victory over the #2 ranked bantamweight fighter. This win gave Umar enough confidence to call out Dvalishvili for being scared. He also added some stats to the call-out Tweet to back his claims, saying,

“Yan fought for title after 6 win Omaley after 4 win Merab could fight for title with Aljo last year. You have to Stop crying You just scared that I will take everything from you.”

In his Tweet, the ‘Young Eagle’ insisted that there were other fighters in the decision who had earned a title shot with fewer fights to their name. Still, this doesn’t quite answer Dvalishvili’s criticism, since he called Umar out on the quality of opponents he faced and not the number of encounters.

Nevertheless, following his recent win and the fiery exchange, Umar is now looking forward to squaring off against the Georgian, hoping to settle the debate once and for all.

Umar predicts a potential fight with Dvalishvili

The upcoming UFC 306 will witness Dvalishvili taking on Sean O’Malley at the Las Vegas Spehere with the bantamweight title on the line. Naturally, Umar, who has defeated the #2 ranked bantamweight fighter, will be looking to go up against the champion next.

In a recent interview with Damon Martin, the Dagestani spoke about what would happen if he ended up fighting Dvalishvili in the octagon,

“I can give him one leg all day and he won’t take me down. … I hope I’m going to fight with Merab and we’re going to know who is best.”

Although Umar praised the Georgian for his wrestling and striking, he claimed he could do it better. This is some sheer confidence from the Dagestani talent and is very reminiscent of a certain young fighter from the same region, who went on to become a champion and remain unbeaten in his career.