Merab Dvalishvili sets outrageous 4 month goal ahead of UFC 311 title fight return
Undisputed bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili has laid out a stunning 4-month plan ahead of his return in weeks time at UFC 311, revealing how he wants to defend his divisional crown three times before the summer.
Dvalishvili, who is slated to return at UFC 311 in January, co-headlines the flagship card in a title defense against the unbeaten Russian contender, Umar Nurmagomedov — in his first attempted defense of the championship.
Winning spoils back in September in the main event of Noche UFC at a monumental event at the Las Vegas Sphere, streaking grappling force, Merab Dvalishvili turned in a dominant unanimous decision win over defending gold holder, Sean O’Malley over the course of five rounds in ‘Sin City.
Merab Dvalishvili lays out plans for three fights before summer
And booked to make his return as a champion for the first time in his grudge fight against American Kickboxing Academy talent, Nurmagomedov, Dvalishvili boldly claimed he would like to rematch former champions, Petr Yan and then O’Malley in March and April, respectively — as part of a 4-month run.
“I want to win this fight [with Umar Nurmagomedov] and I want to be busy in 2025,” Merab Dvalishvili told UFC during a recent interview. “I’m fighting early this year, January 18. and I just want to be busy. I know (Sean) O’Malley wants to come back in April. I think Petr (Yan) will be ready in March. So maybe fight Petr in March, rematch O’Malley in April and whoever will be the next contender I will take I will clean the division again.”
And dissecting his title affair with the surging Nurmagomedov — who is fresh from his premiere main event win over former title challenger, Cory Sandhagen, Dvalishvili has once more called into question whether or not the Russian star actually deserves a shot at championship spoils.
“Umar is a good fighter. It’s a big challenge, but he don’t earn it like the rest of us,” Merab Dvalishvili told ESPN. “We all know we work hard to get here, I don’t get anything easy, but it somehow gets easy. He just complains all the time that nobody wants to fight him, but there are so many good fighters. There’s (Mario) Bautista, there are other fighters that are killers.
“But yeah, he fought only (Cory) Sandhagen (with) no wrestling, and he’s using that excuse that he beat the No. 2 guy, and now he’s here. It’s a big challenge, but the only thing I hate is that he don’t earn it how UFC fighters should earn it, and he’s just cocky. He should be humble at least, and he just disrespects me and lying, and that’s not what real men should do. That’s it.”
