There is a pretty dense storm brewing in the bantamweight division and the people stuck in the center of the storm are Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov. ‘The Machine’ had seized the 135lb gold at UFC 306 by defeating Sean O’Malley through a unanimous decision. But his reign is now under threat from the Dagestani who might be Dvalishvili’s next opponent.

The young prodigy from “Team Khabib” is ready for the fight but seems like the Georgian is adamant about taking a break and fighting after March. This poses a problem for Nurmagomedov as he refuses to compete in the holy month of Ramadan. So now ‘Young Eagle’ has given him the final call out with an ultimatum.

Umar Nurmagomedov issues Merab Dvalishvili the ultimate warning

Umar Nurmagomedov is next in line for a title shot with Dana White confirming the same during UFC 308 presser. Amid this, the Dagestani issued an ultimatum to Dvalishvili and posted it on X. He wrote, “What’s the point of your words if there’s no action behind them? I don’t have a scheduled fight right now. Yadong is ready to fight in January. If you’re not going to defend the title, I’ll take this fight to earn money and make a name for myself.”

However, Dvalishvili is not up for it as he spoke in a recent Q and A about the same. ‘The Machine’ exclaimed, “If Dana White tells me to fight Umar, then I will fight Umar, but you know what? Umar doesn’t deserve to fight me!” He has echoed this sentiment ever since he won the title.

Now rumor has it that, Song Yadong is set to fight Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 and was even whispered to be in the works by the promotion. However, White also stated in the UFC 308 presser, “Did we announce it? Then no (it’s not official).” Yet, when he was asked about the future of Nurmagomedov’s title shot, he did not hesitate to confirm the Dagestani’s name.

On the other hand, there were speculations that Nurmagomedov was about to sign the fight against  “Kung Fu Kid” but the latter was injured according to the Russian. The Georgian champ had then taken this chance to accuse Umar of ducking the fight with Yadong. However, the latest tweet by the Dagestani changes a lot of things. 

Umar Nurmagomedov is ready to risk it all

Umar Nurmagomedov isn’t one to sit around and wait for the ripened fruit to drop in his lap. Instead, he has his eyes fixed on the whole tree and is ready to capitalize with full force. With a looming title shot, the 28-year-old is in a tough spot. Merab Dvalishvili wants time off and also declared that he does not think Umar deserves a title shot right now.

But instead of waiting in the periphery, the Dagestani is expecting to fight Song Yadong and continue on his winning ways. Umar’s manager Ali Abdelaziz opened up about his ambition and clearly stated on X, “Just want to make this clear: @SongYadongLFG was the only person willing to fight @UNmgdv @ufc wanted to make this fight December 14th main event. Song wanted January. Umar was already promised a title shot – but he’s not waiting for anybody! His goal is to beat Khabib’s record.”

Nurmagomedov currently brags a professional record of 18-0. So he would need 11 more wins to tie to ‘The Eagle’ who has a record of 29-0. This is why Umar believes that walking towards the title rather than waiting for Dvalishvili would be better. On the other hand, Dana White has already locked in Umar’s name in the UFC 308 presser. 

Interestingly, Dvalishvili indicated on X, “I said it one hundred times and I’m gonna say it again – if UFC wants me to fight Umar next I will fight him!” He said this even though he thinks that ‘Young Eagle’ is being “gifted” with this title shot without facing more challenges.  Will Dana White finally announce who Nurmagomedov will fight? Share your thoughts in the comments below.