Who will Merab Dvalishvili fight next to defend his title? This is one of the biggest questions that is bothering the fans at the moment. Dvalishvili put up a dominant performance against Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 to win the belt. During the post-fight interview, the champion was asked about his next fight with Umar Nurmagomedov.

Surprisingly, ‘The Machine’ completely ignored the challenge, which surprised many out there. However, his 28-year-old undefeated Dagestani opponent has a special message, seemingly after their fight is a done deal, according to their manager. Let us take a look at Umar’s comment on the same.

Umar Nurmagomedov reminds Merab Dvalishvili of his biggest challenge

After being ignored for a long time by the champion, ‘Young Eagle’ will finally face him next and has a warning for him. The 28-year-old took to his X account and shared a message for Dvalishvili that read, “Merab doesn’t have any other options, his only choice is to fight with me I’m the next contender to fight for the UFC Bantamweight Championship InshAllah”  

Umar Nurmagomedov is currently on a roll in the division, and his frustration is pretty understandable. After his last victory against Cory Sandhagen, ‘Young Eagle’ currently sits at the #2 spot in the division. UFC CEO Dana White has already announced that the winner of the fight will face the winner of UFC 306. Now, with Ali Abdelaziz coming out and announcing that the fight is a done deal, the 28-year-old has a chance to fight for the belt next. However, it now depends on when the UFC sets up the highly anticipated clash between the two. Amidst all the chaos, the rivalry between the former champion and the current champion is far from over.

On September 19, O’Malley re-watched his fight with Dvalishvili for the first time, live-tweeting his reaction to the event. After closely watching the fight, O’Malley claimed that he won the 1st, 3rd, and 5th rounds and should have won the fight. Completely unimpressed by the claims, Merab took to his X to counter it and tweeted, “I  hear O’Malley thinks he won the fight and is looking for a rematch. If he wants it, he can have it. Let’s do it November 16th at the Garden, and then I’ll still defend the title against whoever the UFC wants me to fight next. What do you think?”. However, O’Malley reminded him that he had a bigger challenge ahead of him.

Sean O’Malley has no interest in facing Merab Dvalishivili next

“Great fight week, best weight cut, felt good, no excuses,” these were the exact words of Sean O’Malley after losing his title at the UFC 306 Noche event. However, the former champion was completely outwrestled by the Georgian fighter. All those claims of knocking out Dvalishvili in the first round were far from reality. ‘The Machine’ won the fight via decision, and the judges scored the bout (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) in favor of the then challenger. While O’Malley did accept his defeat in the first place, however changed his mind after watching the replay of the fight.

Dvalishvili, being a bigger man, did offer him a rematch at the upcoming UFC 309 event. But it seems O’Malley wants him to focus on Umar Nurmagomedov next. ‘Suga’ took to his X account and responded, “Getting surgery Oct 3rd. Fought you with one hip and still beat you. Round 1,3,5. I’m the champion. Fight Umnar.” O’Malley, after the fight, shared the details of his injury, and it is clear that he was nowhere close to his best at UFC 306. The 29-year-old revealed that he had torn his left labrum in his training camp, which kind of limited his attacking options in the fight. He is now focused on his recovery and is prepared to stay out of action for a year as well.

With O’Malley now out of action, it seems Merab Dvalishvili has no other option but to face Umar Nurmagomedov next. Are you excited to witness the pair take on each other next? Let us know in the comments below.