The title belt gleams while the top contenders languish. This has been a regular occurrence when it comes to the UFC. The latest in this long list is Umar Nurmagomedov as doubts loom over his next fight in the promotion. This is the question that has been bothering the fans for a long time now. ‘Young Eagle’ is currently unbeaten in his career and is the #1 contender in the bantamweight division. However, the champion, Merab Dvalishvili, has no interest in facing him as of yet.

The pair have been involved in a lot of social media brawls, but it seems the Dagestani fighter will have to wait for his title fight. It now seems that Nurmagomedov is ready to take on anyone the UFC put ahead of him.

Umar Nurmagomedov has a special message for the promotion regarding his future

There are not many fighters who have a better resume than Umar Nurmagomedov at the moment. But in the end, it all depends on the UFC matchmakers to decide who’s next in line. However, it seems that Nurmagomedov has run out of patience. This was evident when the 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”

Merab Dvalishvili derailed Sean O’Malley’s momentum when he took the division gold at UFC 306. In a superior display of grappling skills and relentless pressure, ‘The Machine’ registered his claim as the top dog at 135lbs. While he did win his title, the next big question is who he will be defending it against. By the recent trends, Umar Nurmagomedov seemed to be next in line.

However, Dvalishvili completely ignored the ‘Young Eagle’ during his post-fight presser following his victory at ‘The Sphere’. His behavior caught the attention of many, including the Dagestani camp.

The Russian is confident, and his longtime manager has claimed that his next fight will be against the champion. However, there is no official announcement about his next bout, and fight fans are waiting to see him in action. In a recent development, the champion has now shown interest in fighting before Ramadan, which is practically impossible for Nurmagomedov. Their battle got even more intense after this, and the Dagestani fighter took to his X account to respond to the champion once again.

Nurmagomedov comes up with a unique challenge for Merab Dvalishvili

‘The Machine’ held a press conference on September 30 and answered several questions about his future fights. During the interview, he made it clear that he would be facing Nurmagomedov next. But the problem is the timeline that the champion has chosen. Dvalishvili wants to fight him in February or March 2025 which is the holy month of Ramadan. During this particular time, Nurmagomedov will not be entering the octagon, which was cleared by his manager, Ali Abdelaziz during a conversation with ‘Submission Radio’.

‘Young Eagle’ also reflected the same thought process and took to his social media account to challenge the division king. He stated, “Hey Merab you know that Ramadan is in March, and knowing this you insist on March, in 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 will be interesting to see what reply Merab Dvalishvili gives to his potential opponent. For the first time, the champion seems to be avoiding any particular opponent. But the biggest question is why? Is he afraid of the Dagestani fighter? Or does he have any particular opponent in mind? Let us wait and watch to find out whom Merab Dvalishvili faces next in his career.