Merab Dvalishvili stepped inside the Octagon as a heavy underdog against Umar Nurmagomedov. The tide, as well as the fan support, was against the Georgian. However, he turned everything around and, in the end, it was ‘The Machine’ who had the last laugh. The Georgian breached the Dagestani wall and toyed with ‘The Young Eagle’ at the very end to successfully defend his bantamweight title. After the co-main event ended with Nurmagomedov’s loss, the UFC CEO appeared to be a bit uncertain about the Dagestani.

At the post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White was filled with questions by the reporters and one of them was about the future of Umar Nurmagomedov after the loss. The UFC CEO emphasized that he had a conversation with Khabib Nurmagomedov after the fight but he didn’t have any talks about the fate of ‘The Young Eagle’, “We didn’t talk about that. I told him, ‘Great fight’, and he said, ‘Thank you.’ I don’t know what’s next for Umar,” said Dana White.

Umar Nurmagomedov had the edge in the initial rounds against ‘The Machine’, however, he failed to capitalize on it as Merab Dvalishvili built immense pressure in the later rounds. Right from the get-go, Merab claimed that Umar was being fast-tracked to the title because of his surname. And this performance makes you wonder – was Merab right all along?

Interestingly, when the entire MMA community expected Nurmagomedov to defeat Dvalishvili, Din Thomas had a completely different opinion about the fight, “I think Merab beats Umar. I just think that somewhere in that division, it catches up to him. I’m not sure Umar’s the guy though, and it’s not because I don’t think Umar is good enough. I just think that fighting comes down to moments and being able to deal with the pressure. Umar has a lot of weight to carry. The name, there’s a lot going on.”

“And then for him to go out there and fight a guy like Merab. If it was anybody else, I would pick Umar, but a guy like Merab, who has built a career on finding these small, little holes in fighters. He finds these small, little holes and just exposes them just with his pressure, and his comfortability inside the cage. I think Umar has to watch out for that. I think Merab finds these little moments and breaks him.” Thomas added.

Many felt this was what happened. The narrative going into the fight was that Dvalishvili was scared. The action inside the cage suggested otherwise. As the fight wore on, ‘The Machine’ looked more and more like himself. He was toying around with Umar and talking to Joe Rogan in between! This puts Din Thomas’ statement in perspective. Did a lack of big fight experience cost Umar his ‘O’?

The defeat might not have been crushing, but it certainly made a dent in Umar Nurmagomedov’s previously undefeated confidence. On top of that, Merab Dvalishvili’s random emotes during the fight were the cherry on top, further breaking his confidence. Not to mention, he broke his hand in the first round, killing his striking, which Khabib predicted was going to be his edge in the fight. Regardless, what was Nurmagomedov’s reaction after the fight?

Umar Nurmagomedov in denial after losing his zero at UFC 311

Umar Nurmagomedov was expecting Herb Dean to raise his hand at the end of the fight but the opposite happened. Interestingly, after the results were revealed, the UFC bantamweight contender argued that he was not ready to take the defeat as he thought he won the fight. Nurmagomedov emphasized that he will continue to work hard to take the title.

“I think first round I won, the others were close,” Nurmagomedov said. “I don’t think I lose this fight. After the first round, I can’t punch because I think I broke my hand and the games go the other way. I need to watch this video of my fight. I don’t think I lost this fight. I’m not agreeing with the judges but I need to see all the rounds. I knew he was a tough guy.”

A rematch for the Dagestani might be out of the question now as the UFC head honcho Dana White might clinch in Sean O’Malley for the rematch. Regardless, Umar Nurmagomedov did show everyone that he has the caliber to become the champion once he works on his cardio.

If Merab stays champion long enough, you could even see a potential trilogy down the line. At Merab’s age, and the division’s history with champions in their mid-30s, he might drop the title sooner or later (as Din Thomas said) and it might be in a rematch with Umar Nurmagomedv. What ‘The Machine’ needs now is a bit of rest. He’s had three fights in twelve months, two of them being title bouts. So the division might have to make do without the champion for a while.

What’s your take on the fight? Who should welcome Dvalishvili back to the cage? State your thoughts in the comments below.