33-year-old Merab Dvalishvili becomes the second man from Georgia to become a UFC champion. ‘The Machine’ took on Sean O’Malley in the recently concluded UFC 306 to win the Bantamweight title. Dvalishvili dominated the fight as he had promised to do and didn’t allow ‘Suga’ to settle in the fight. However, he might just have his next opponent ready, and it’s none other than Umar Nurmagomedov.

The Dagestani fighter is currently unbeaten in the division and earned himself a title shot after his last victory. But ‘The Machine’ didn’t quite respond the way many would want during his post-fight interview about facing him. Let us take a look at what he had to say.

Merab Dvalishvili might just not be ready to face Umar Nurmagomedov next

After winning his fight, Merab Dvalishvili was asked one of the important questions by Joe Rogan about his first title defense. He said, “How do you feel about Umar Nurmagomedov being your next opponent?”. The new bantamweight champion gave a unique response and said, “Dana White is a great man, he changed my life, I love this company, I’m a normal guy”. Umar Nurmagomedov tweeted, “White Papakha vs Black Papakha Have to be Congratulations  @MerabDvalishvil .Right now you champion You deserve this belt Enjoy”. 

However, getting completely ignored by the champion has had no effect on the number one contender. 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 champion and don’t choose opponents. See you soon guys.” Currently, there is no announcement of the next fight, but there is no doubt that the Georgian will have to defend his title against the Dagestani fighter sooner of later. However, let us now shift our focus to the new champion, who has now extended his winning run to eleven fights in the UFC.

Dvalishvili had been waiting for a long time to face the champion and was pretty confident about his skills. Before the fight, he made it clear that he will be taking the fight to the ground and would be relentless with his pressure. This is what exactly he did throughout the five rounds and completely ruled O’Malley out of the fight. However, the scorecard after the fight did not depict an accurate picture of the kind of dominance the Georgian fighter had in the fight. During the post-fight interview, he shared his opinion on the whole while speaking to Rogan.

Merab Dvalishvili isn’t quite affected by the judges scoring after his dominating victory

There is a new bantamweight king in the town, and it’s none other than Georgian fighter Merab Dvalishvili. The 33-year-old surprised most of the fans out there with his performance and made easy work of Sean O’Malley. ‘Suga’ started the fight on a very positive note, and it seemed he was on the right path for yet another successful title defense. However, ‘The Machine’ had different plans altogether. Dvalishvili used his wrestling skills to his advantage and maintained the pressure intact for the entire fight. Surprisingly, two of the judges awarded the former champion the 3rd and the 4th round.

The scoring surprised everyone, including UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. He said, “Were you surprised how close the judges scored it?”. Dvalishvili seemed absolutely unfazed by it and said, “No, I don’t pay attention because sometimes we so crazy judges scored and it’s MMA we don’t know sometimes how they score… . The new champion will now be focused on his first title defense after his dominating performance at UFC 306. He has proved to the world that he is indeed one of the best in the division.

How highly do you rate Merab Dvalishvili’s performance at UFC 306? Let us know about it in the comments below.