Merab Dvalishvili won his bantamweight title at the iconic UFC 306 against Sean O’Malley after a long journey at UFC. The fighter who has seen many ups and downs in life finally has an 11-fight winning streak over top fighters like Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, and now ‘Suga’. The Machine’s rise has been a result of relentless effort and unwavering determination, which stands in stark contrast to what the other fighters view as Umar Nurmagomedov’s privileged success. Dvalishvili has openly expressed his anger at how Khabib’s cousin has been given the next title contender position after his win against Cory Sandhagen.

‘The Machine’ had previously declared that even though the Dagestani is a good fighter, he has not earned his spot yet. This was not taken silently by Umar Nurmagomedov and he took a jibe by also bringing Ilia Topuria into the scene. The thing is, Topuria and Dvalishvili are not just from the same country, but are also great friends. Keep reading to find out about what happened between the two.

Umar Nurmagomedov gives a reality check to Merab Dvalishvili

Speaking to Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, ‘The Machine’ supported Deiveson Figueiredo’s stance to fight for the bantamweight title instead of Umar. He said, “Umar, he only beat Cory Sandhagen from top-15. Only one guy he beat from top-15. Why does he deserve to fight for the belt?” Now the Dagestani has replied, and he posted on X taking a jibe at Dvalishvili’s friend Ilia Topuria. He wrote, “When Merab’s friend, Topuria fought for the title, after 6 consecutive wins, and beating only one top 5 ranked opponent Josh Emmet, I don’t remember that Merab was desperately protesting against such ‘unfairness’.”

The new champ spoke about Khabib’s cousin and how ‘ Deus da Guerra’ deserves a title shot chance. Dvalishvili said, “I think next title fight Deiveson Figueiredo deserves to fight for the belt. He beat one former champion in this weight class, one title challenger, and he beat Rob Font. And Figueiredo is a former champion, and he has a big name and he deserves it.” Now Khabib’s cousin thinks this is hypocrisy since his Georgian friend Topuria got a similar treatment from UFC while dethroning Alexander Volkanovski. So maybe, according to Umar, Dvalishvili is claiming that it’s an unfair treatment when in reality, UFC is the one that calls the shots and not the fighters.

Meanwhile, Dvalishvili suggested that Umar should face other top contenders like Deiveson Figueiredo or Petr Yan before being given the title shot. Interestingly, during the octagon interview after the UFC 306 win, ‘The Machine’ had a unique answer for Rogan’s question about the matchup with the Dagestani.

Merab Dvalishvili gives a cryptic answer on his stance at facing Umar Nurmagomedov

After the historic win against Sean O’Malley, Joe Rogan, in his usual antics took Dvalishvili to the center of the canvas for an interview. He asked, “How do you feel about Umar Nurmagomedov being your next opponent?”. The new bantamweight champion gave a cryptic answer and said, “Dana White is a great man, he changed my life, I love this company, I’m a normal guy”.

Khabib’s cousin was present in the audience and heard everything with a slight smile on his face. Later on, he tweeted, “White Papakha vs Black Papakha Have to be Congratulations  @MerabDvalishvil .Right now you champion You deserve this belt Enjoy”. Interestingly, being ignored by the new bantamweight champion did not have any effect on the unbeaten fighter.

He was present to witness the fight and said, “I think I’m next. I hope they will not avoid it and run. They have to be true champions and don’t choose opponents. See you soon guys.” There has been no official announcement for the next fight, but the Georgian champ cannot ignore a fight against the Dagestani for long.

On the other hand, Deiveson Figueiredo is also looking for a fight against ’The Machine’. Even the latter has shown interest in this fight, so what do you think will happen next? Who do you think will be Dvalishvili’s next opponent? Let us know in the comments.