The Intuit Dome is gearing up to welcome fight fans this weekend as the year’s first PPV event draws near. The main card, headlined by the much-anticipated lightweight title clash between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan, promises thrilling action. However, the co-main event—the 135lbs title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov—has attracted attention for entirely different reasons.
Controversy surrounds the bout, with both fighters accusing each other of “ducking” and “avoiding” the matchup. Considering it has been just four months since ‘The Machine’ captured the bantamweight title by dethroning Sean O’Malley, is this a reasonable timeframe for his first title defense? Merab Dvalishvili’s teammate and close friend Aljamain Sterling has defended him against these allegations, arguing, “He just won the belt.”
Initially, the Georgian native appeared hesitant to risk his title against a young, hungry, and dangerous contender like Umar Nurmagomedov. So, what led to this fight being fast-tracked? Interestingly, according to UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, it came down to pressure from UFC CEO Dana White.
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Speaking on the YouTube channel MMA TEAM Gorilla Fighting, Khabib offered his take: “Personally, I think the UFC forced him into it—this is my personal opinion. They pressed on it and made it happen so that he (Merab Dvalishvili) would fight with him. The UFC needed a co-main event for the belt at this tournament, UFC 311. Umar was next in line to fight for the belt.”
Meanwhile, Dana White is already under fire from fans who accuse him of slowing divisions and failing to deliver the matchups they demand. With other marquee bouts, such as Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev and Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title unification, sparking their share of controversy, one has to wonder: would White have risked further backlash by delaying Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov?
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What was Merab Dvalishvili’s original timeline for his UFC return?
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, despite being in the later stages of his career, shows no signs of slowing down. Much like in 2024, when he made two major appearances within seven months—first dominating Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 in February, and then dethroning Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in September— ‘The Machine’ is set to stay active throughout 2025. He has hinted at a possible return between February and March, keeping his plan of maintaining a seven-month gap between fights.
In a recent interview with ‘The Schmo’ on the YouTube channel, Dvalishvili revealed his tentative return blueprint: “After five or six months, that will be either February or March. Now I’m fighting with a bit of an early turnaround in January, but I still want to fight in March and April. I want to stay busy. This fight in January wasn’t my original plan—I wanted to fight in March. But since I’m fighting in January, I still want to fight in March and April.”
However, White’s intervention caused the Georgian native to take on Umar Nurmagomedov sooner than anticipated. What’s your take on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s insight? Do you believe the pressure from the UFC head honcho pushed Merab to defend his title so quickly? Drop your thoughts below.
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Did Dana White push Merab Dvalishvili into a premature title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov?
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Did Dana White push Merab Dvalishvili into a premature title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov?
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