Umar Nurmagomedov’s long-awaited title shot is on hold as a showdown with Merab Dvalishvili won’t happen before Ramadan. Despite Nurmagomedov being next in line, Dvalishvili has expressed a desire to take a well-deserved break and return only in February or March of next year.
This timing, however, doesn’t align with Nurmagomedov’s plans, as it coincides with Ramadan—a period where he refrains from fighting. For now, the bantamweight division will have to wait for a title fight as both fighters navigate their schedules around faith and recovery.
The holy period of Ramadan lasts from February 28, 2025, to March 29, 2025. During this period, fighters of the Islamic faith in the UFC do not compete as they prefer to spend this holy time with families.
The youngest scion of the Nurmagomedov clan, in the meantime, has shared his plans on what might be next for him in an interview with Red Corner MMA.
The ‘Young Eagle’ confirmed that if he were to fight in January as rumored, it would most likely not be against Merab. But he expects the UFC and Merab to hold their end of the bargain following the holy month and if that’s not the case, he would like to add to his already 18-0 fight streak in January.
“I would like to fight in January, or after Ramadan in May. No, one hundred percent. He won’t fight me before Ramadan.”
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The bantamweight champion, on the other hand, would prefer a rematch with Sean O’Malley.
Why is Merab prefers ‘Suga’ over Umar?
Dvalishvili isn’t rushing into his first title defense. especially after waiting a year or so to get his first title shot. It was a long and frustrating journey with O’Malley wanting to move up in weight class and fighting for a second belt.
And now that Dvalishvili has been successful in capturing the title from him, he wants a full training camp to take on a top contender like Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili earned the belt with a unanimous decision over O’Malley in September at UFC 306 and has since faced pressure from Nurmagomedov to set a fight date.
There has been a lot of back and forth between the two, with the Georgian clearly avoiding him at the moment. Even when Joe Rogan asked him about it during his post-fight interview at UFC Noche, he responded by talking about how much love he had for Dana White.
But then Dvalishvili went and suggested a rematch with O’Malley for November, sparking criticism. He clarified that since both fought on the same day in September, a quick turnaround with O’Malley felt feasible.
Facing a new opponent with a different style, though, requires more prep time. Now, he’s eyeing February and hopes to have an active year with three fights in 2025. Hopefully one of those fights is against Umar Nurmagomedov.
