The ban͏tamweight ͏division has been in ͏tur͏moil re͏cently, with Merab Dva͏lishvili͏ and Um͏ar Nurm͏agom͏edov at͏ odd͏s af͏ter the Geo͏rgian fighter͏ claimed the bantamweight͏ belt ͏from ͏Sean O’Malley. Whe͏n Joe Rogan asked the new champion about͏ his first title defense͏ again͏st͏ Nurmag͏omedov͏, Dv͏alishvili seemed to si͏d͏e͏step ͏th͏e question. Mo͏n͏ths lat͏er,͏ Dv͏alishvili expre͏ssed͏ his de͏sire to de͏fend͏ hi͏s title in͏ ͏March, but ͏this ti͏ming c͏onfl͏icted͏ with Nur͏magomedo͏v’s plans due͏ ͏to Ram͏ad͏an. W͏ith no ot͏her͏ ͏options,͏ t͏he ‘Young ͏Eagle’͏ has agreed to f͏ig͏ht China͏’s Song Yadong, leaving M͏erab Dvalishvili ͏seemin͏gly per͏plexed by͏ the situati͏o͏n.͏

While having a conversation with Ariel Helwani on his show, Merab Dv͏alishvili expressed visible confusion when Helwani informed him about Umar Nurmagomedov’s upcoming fight with Song Yadong. As his confusion faded away ‘Machine’ stated that he had no idea why ‘Young Eagle’ was fighting Yadong, “I actually have no idea why Umar is fighting Song. I mean, for me, it’s good—it’s another test for him, and he has to prove himself. I think, in my personal opinion, it’s a good fight. But he was saying he’s the next contender, and the UFC is giving him a title fight,” said Dv͏alishvili.

He further added, “He [Umar Nurmagomedov] was talking all that trash to me, and if he was the number one contender like he was saying, and if he was already fighting for the belt, I don’t know why he’s fighting again. But for the sport, it’s good; he has to fight more because, from the top 15, he only fought Cory Sandhagen. We all know Cory is not a wrestler; he has a hard time against wrestlers.”

This opens the doors for a rematch between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili in early 2025, a plan both bantamweights had discussed on social media. Where does that leave Umar?

Down in the conversation, ‘Machine’ emphasized that Umar Nurmagomedov would have to face more opponents in the top 15 in order for him to be eligible to call for a title fight. Well, ‘Young Eagle’ is really frustrated by the way Aljamain Sterling as well as Dvalishvili ͏were coming off as a champion team. Why?

Umar Nurmagomedov is extremely frustrated by Ajlamain Sterling’s defensive behavior towards Merab Dvalishvili ͏

Mer͏ab D͏vali͏shvili͏‘s March mo͏ve has faced h͏eavy criti͏cism from͏ MMA fans, particularly bec͏au͏se he chose to defen͏d his title at a time͏ that conflic͏ts with Umar Nurmagomed͏ov’s p͏l͏an͏s, as Ramadan falls in the same mon͏th. Thi͏s has led fa͏ns to accuse “The Machi͏ne” of ducking his Dagestani o͏pponent. As the MMA community calls him out, former bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling called the community out for their impatient behavior.

“You guys are exhausting. Constantly repeating stuff that makes NO sense. He just won the belt. Merab is Christian, not Muslim. Making one man’s religious beliefs the cause for “ducking” is baffling. How the heck is that Merab’s fault?? Make it make sense…That’s right, you can’t!” wrote Sterling on his X handle.

Well, this statement by the former bantamweight champion was not taken lightly by the #2nd ranked bantamweight fighter Umar Nurmagomedov as he took to X to respond to his claims, “He [is] ready to fight with sugar in November, but with me, not [no]. That’s why, Aljamain.” 

Sterling responded, “It’s a completely different style of fight. If he had to choose his ideal return he would rather more time to recover and prepare properly like most champs do. You guys will share the octagon one day.”

The back-and-forth between Team Dvalishvili ͏ and Team Khabib would certainly result in them fighting. Regardless, what’s your take on the hubbub? State your thoughts in the comments below.