Aljamain Sterling‘s bantamweight title loss opened the doors for his friend and teammate, Merab Dvalishvili, to not only avenge him but also become a champion himself at UFC 306. Sean O’Malley will be no easy opponent since his teammate already knows what ‘Suga’ is all about inside the Octagon. However, Dvalishvili could already be cooking his plans if he manages to become champion.

There have been many fighters going up and down in the weight classes in the UFC, and one of the bantamweight division’s most recent additions has been former flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo. Merab Dvalishvili wants to fight the former 125-pound king, believing that beating another former champion would be great for his resume.

“I would love to fight Figueiredo. He’s a former champion, he’s dangerous,” Merab Dvalishvili stated on Demetrious Johnson’s ‘MightyCast’. Now, recent reports have indicated that the opponent for ‘The Machine’s first title defense may have already been chosen, and he may not have any say in this situation. The opponent in question is Team Khabib’s Umar Nurmagomedov.

When asked about Umar fighting for the title, Khabib Nurmagomedov said he would prefer Dvalishvili, because of his Georgian nationality. ‘The Eagle’ saw the interest in a Russia vs. Georgia title fight. But the former champion was not quick to dismiss O’Malley either and gave him his due credit.

In a recent tweet, Umar’s manager Ali Abdelaziz stated, “Umar Nurmagomedov will be cage side at the Sphere, he will fight the winner of the main event.” We don’t know how true the party about the title shot is, but Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t see him in the picture. Moreover, when he was asked to share some words on Nurmagomedov’s title shot claims, ‘The Machine’ would claim that the Dagestan native hasn’t proven anything yet.

Merab Dvalishvili claims Umar Nurmagomedov doesn’t “deserve” a title shot

Merab Dvalishvili talked about merit when he chose Deiveson Figueiredo as his next opponent, even before his interview with Demetrious Johnson. Given the things he’s achieved, and with three straight wins since debuting at bantamweight, Dvalishvili has no doubts that ‘Deus da Guerra’ has made his case to fight to become champion next. Things are totally different when it comes to Umar Nurmagomedov because ‘The Machine’ believes that Khabib’s cousin hasn’t fought many top contenders except Cory Sandhagen. He demanded more from him.

“Deiveson Figueiredo deserves to fight for the belt… He beat one former champion in this weight class and one title challenger, and he beat Rob Font. And Figueiredo is former champion, and he has big name, and he deserves,” Merab Dvalishvili stated during an interview with ‘MMA Junkie’. “Umar, he only beat Cory Sandhagen from top 15. Only one guy he beat from top 15 and why he deserve to fight for the belt?”

Merab Dvalishvili had a suggestion for Umar Nurmagomedov. He thinks the Dagestan native should fight Sean O’Malley if ‘Suga’ goes from the reigning champion to the former champion. Maybe then he can make the case for a title shot because the Georgian star had to claw his way into a title fight by beating multiple former champions, including Jose Aldo. What do you think? Should Dvalishvili give Umar a title shot?