The throne awaits in all its glory, while the contenders keep on waning. This is a very common scenario in the world of UFC where a list of top contenders keep on waiting for their opportunity for the title bout. This time, it’s Umar Nurmagomedov’s patience is being tested while there are doubts about his next fight in the promotion. ‘Young Eagle’ is currently on an unbeaten winning streak in his career and is the #2 contender in the bantamweight division.

However, his possible divisional champion, Merab Dvalishvili, is adamant about not facing him inside the Octagon. So the fighter from Team Khabib decided to take matters into his own hands as he awaited for a signal from UFC CEO, Dana white.

Umar Nurmagomedov gives an ultimatum to his prospective opponent

Merab Dvalishvili, who won against Sean O’Malley gave us the first reason for not fighting with the Dagestani because he thinks that the latter has yet to prove himself even if he’s undefeated. However, as we can see, there are very few fighters who have an impressive résumé like Umar but it depends on UFC matchmakers to decide who he is going to fight next.

This is why, to coax the boss and act as a catalyst, the bantamweight from Team Khabib posted a recent update of his training on Instagram. ‘Young Eagle’ wrote, “History will vindicate us and we will become part of it, of a great legacy. Waiting for news from @ufc. Ready to perform one more time this year.” In fact, during a recent Ariel Helwani interview, even Sean O’Malley speculated about the same aspect and assumed that Dvalishvili might be scared about the matchup.

‘Suga’ even questioned the situation said, “Merab vs. Umar, why is this not being announced? Why aren’t they fighting in November? Why aren’t they fighting in December?” The bantamweight star who is recovering from hip surgery right now- even announced that if this matchup does not happen, he would gladly take a rematch against Merab Dvalishvili for the title in March 2025.

Umar Nurmagomedov clearly seems to have run out of patience and is pressurizing ‘The Machine’ into replying to the challenge. The Dagestani is trying to fight before Ramadan begins in early 2025, ‘The Machine,’ meanwhile, seems to be strategically aiming for that exact same timeline for his return. Nurmagoemdov is trying every way to persuade the UFC to book a fight for him and even posted on X regarding the same.

Umar knocks at UFC matchmakers’ door for a fight

Umar Nurmagomedov had already stated that he would not be able to fight during late February and March because of the holy season of Ramadan. That is why Dagestani took to his X account and tweeted “If Merab is going to avoid me, I won’t wait for him. And I’ll fight with anyone UFC suggests before Ramadan”

On the other hand, the Georgian champion had declared that he would need a little bit more rest and would not fight in the first half of 2025. During a press conference that Dvalishvili held on Sept 30, he cleared that he would be fighting in February or March and agreed to fight the Dagestani in those months. However, there is a clash of timing and dates because it is also the holy time of Ramadan when Umar cannot step inside the Octagon, and this was even cleared by his manager Ali Abdelaziz.

The bantamweight star explained the same and accused Dvalishvili on X . He stated, “Hey Merab you know that Ramadan is in March, and knowing this you insist on March, February the tournament will be held in Australia and they won’t put us there. There is a tournament in Los Angeles in January – let’s fight there, and there is enough time to prepare. Stop looking for excuses. Give the people what they want, everyone who follows our weight – wants to see this fight”.

It is hard to ignore the fact that the Georgian, who defeated ‘Suga’ is seemingly trying to avoid his next opponent. However, why is he doing so? Is he afraid of the Dagestani’s power? Let’s wait and watch what happens in the coming days and whether they fight inside the Octagon in 2024.