Sean O’Malley might not have a lot in common with  Umar Nurmagomedov but he does have similar thoughts as the Dagestani on one thing. ‘Suga’ thinks the reason UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is so opposed to fighting #1 ranked Umar is because he fears the fighter from Team Khabib. Dvalishvili has been adamant about his contempt for the young man who defeated Cory Sandhagen because ‘The Machine’ thinks that the undefeated bantamweight doesn’t deserve a shot at the divisional gold just yet.

However, both Sean O’Malley and the Dagestani have a different take. “Young Eagle” has again spoken out on why Dvalishvili is avoiding him while ‘Sugar’ wants a rematch with his UFC 306 contender.

Umar Nurmagomedov clears his stance on the possibility of not getting a title shot

The undefeated Dagestani joined Submission Radio and spoke about the Georgian not wanting to fight him. While speaking about the much-known fact, he seemed pretty calm as if he already knew the outcome. He revealed his emotions regarding the possible loss of the title shot and blamed ‘The Machine’ for ducking the matchup.

Umar said in a very calm and somewhat sarcastic tone, “Rather he will fight with anybody except me. Like you know, he doesn’t care who it’s gonna be. Like maybe he ready to fight with even this like, Ngannou you know, but not with me.”

He taunted Dvalishvili by stating that the latter was scared of him. ‘Young Eagle’ further explained, “I understand him you know, he doesn’t wanna lose his belt, he don’t; he wanna be champion like more time, like longer, and he knows who can beat him. It’s me but other guys he don’t scare to other guys. He doesn’t wanna take risks.”

This verdict resonated with ‘Suga’ who is also vying for a rematch with his UFC 306 contender. He seems to be surprised as well about Dvalishvili not taking up Umar Nurmagomedov for his maiden title defense.

Sean O’Malley shares his thoughts on why Merab Dvalishvili is avoiding Nurmagomedov

The former bantamweight champion spoke to Ariel Helwani on the latter’s new self-titled show and the #1 ranked bantamweight revealed his hopes to return soon. He spoke about a tentative location and said, “I want to get back to work. I want to get back on the mats. I want to get back to doing – I want to make that walk again and I want Merab next. I know I’m better than him. I need to right that wrong. I think Miami would just be sweet.”

However along with his return plans and a desire for a rematch, ‘Suga’ was surprised that UFC was not booking the Dagestani against Dvalishvili. He expressed the same and said, “Merab and Umar, why is this not being announced? Why aren’t they fighting in November? Why aren’t they fighting in December? I think January is, wasn’t January Islam?… I mean I don’t know… I mean Umar said that he’ll take a fight that’s not Merab if Merab wants to wait and blah blah blah. So I’m here, I’m ready to — well, not ready to go yet. I’ll be ready.”

This is also one of the reasons he threw his name in the ‘goblet of fire’ for an immediate rematch with the champion despite losing the title to him. ‘Suga’ also agreed with Umar and said that Dvalishvili was afraid of the ‘Young Eagle’ so he was choosing other opponents.

This fear might be present because the Georgian is a wrestler and what makes Nurmagomedov special is because he has amazing striking skills on top of the famed Dagestani grappling. Dvalishvili is a bit wobbly in the striking game so the 28-year-old poses a threat to the champion on the ground and also on his feet. Do you agree with what the Dagestani star and ‘Suga’ think about Dvalishvili?