Umar Nurmagomedov wouldn’t be shocked if Merab Dvalishvili pulled out of their conflict at UFC 311.
After securing a dominant victory over Sean O’Malley in September to say the bantamweight title, Dvalishvili will put his gold up for grabs in opposition to Nurmagomedov, the No. 2 ranked contender, on January 18 in Los Angeles.
Nearly instantly after his title-winning efficiency at UFC 306, ‘The Machine’ tried to discredit Nurmagomedov’s standing as the following man in line, pointing at his lack of wins over prime 15 opponents.
Sadly for Dvalishvili, he didn’t make a robust sufficient case and the promotion moved ahead with plans to present the undefeated Dagestani his first shot at UFC gold in 2025.
Throughout an interview with the UFC, Nurmagomedov spoke about the opportunity of his opponent pulling out of the bout.
“I can’t be shocked and no one can be shocked,” Nurmagomedov stated. “Even proper now, I noticed like commentary on Twitter, they stated he’ll pull out, however he by no means pulled out earlier than. I hope he won’t and the struggle goes to occur” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Umar Nurmagomedov thinks ‘The Machine’ solely desires opponents he is aware of he can beat
Nurmagomedov goes into the co-main occasion conflict with an ideal 18-0 document, six of these wins coming below the UFC banner. The largest of these victories got here in August when Nurmagomedov scored a decisive unanimous choice victory over Cory Sandhagen, skyrocketing him from the again of the bantamweight rankings to the second-ranked spot.
Whether or not or not Nurmagomedov deserves the shot he’s been given varies relying on who you’re speaking to, however regardless, the Dagestani believes there is no such thing as a path to victory for his Georgian opposition.
“I feel he simply desires to struggle with an actual man he can beat,” Nurmagomedov stated. “It doesn’t imply I’m actually going to one hundred pc go contained in the cage and smash him, no. He is aware of different guys, he’ll beat. With me, it’s going to be onerous. That’s why he’s making an attempt to be a champion for a very long time, and he desires to struggle with O’Malley, with Petr Yan, or another person as a result of these guys, simple cash. Me, no. For me, he has to go deep waters. With me it’s going to be an extended night time. I can’t give him takedowns, he won’t management me.
“I’ve good expertise, placing expertise, and I could make for him a variety of issues. That’s why, however once we go contained in the cage, I can’t suppose he’s petrified of me. I’ll know that this can be a man who will attempt to beat me, I’ll attempt to smash him, and it’s going to be a battle. What I perceive is he doesn’t wish to take a dangerous struggle. He can beat me, it may possibly occur. It’s not going to interrupt me. I can be similar Umar. Combat is struggle. All people can lose. …If we’re speaking about scared, I simply suppose he doesn’t wish to take danger, onerous struggle.”
