Merab Dvalishvili is not a fan when it comes to Umar Nurmagomedov. And it is safe to say that feeling is mutual. After all, the reigning bantamweight champ feels that the Dagestani got special treatment from the UFC because of his last name, which he shares with his iconic cousin, Khabib. Umar, of course, is set to face ‘The Machine’ at UFC 311 on January 18. And that, of course, doesn’t sit well with the champ.

Their animosity was nowhere more apparent than at the kick-off press conference for their January 2025 clash. There, Merab called Umar all sorts of names, saying he doesn’t respect the Dagestani as a man, chewing Umar out for disrespecting him, and reiterating that the challenger isn’t worthy of a title shot. While Umar was far more respectful at the presser, he was pretty upset and got a few things off his chest about that infamous press conference in an interview with ‘Ushtayaka’ on YouTube.

“He swears, says something, calls me names… I’m telling you honestly: he won’t say all this to my face, one on one. Where there will be no one, where we will stay with him, where it will be necessary to say what he wants, these insults, he will not say this. But when you say all this, when there is security between us, – any person can do this. Women do this too! A woman insults too. She knows that she cannot be hit, that she has some… A woman always acts from a position of weakness. To say something,” Umar said in his native Russian.

Of course, some would ask Umar why he didn’t say all of this to the Georgian’s face when he had the chance. Not to mention Merab has proven again and again that he isn’t the type to take disrespect lightly, even fighting with fans if they insult him. After essentially calling Merab a coward, the Dagestani then moved on to actually responding to what Merab said at the press conference.

“He tells me that I need to be a man. “You are not a man!” Analyze your behavior like a normal person. You say that the belt is not important to you, money is not important, the fight is not important, and you think that a person should be worthy. Ok. But after that, you say that you will deal with me after the fight. For what? So it’s important to you? If the fight is not important to you, then I’m here. And if I said something offensive, then go and ask. If you can do something. I’m open to conversation,” Umar added. But the Dagestani wasn’t done and felt the problem just came down to him and the Georgian being very different types of people, with different goals.

Umar Nurmagomedov gives a blunt verdict on Merab Dvalishvili

Umar claimed that he isn’t willing to stoop to the levels Merab allegedly does to hype up their matchup. ‘The Machine’, of course, likes to have some fun with his opponents. He recently posted a photoshopped pic of Umar, which implied the Dagestani was his errand boy.

Along, of course, with Merab’s constant excoriation of the challenger every chance he gets. But Umar is focused on fighting and isn’t one to engage in shenanigans, which the undefeated bantamweight feels sets him apart from Dvalishvili. Even if the champ’s goals may literally seem the exact same as Umar’s.

“I try not to focus on this nonsense that he says. It happens that he does some photoshops. He wants to be funny. I don’t want to be funny. This position doesn’t suit me. I don’t want to make people laugh and I want to fight, perform, earn my money, and create a legacy for myself, my team, for my family. I have a different goal. Not those that, in my opinion, Merab pursues,” Umar concluded. What do you think about Umar’s scathing comments at Merab Dvalishvili?