Deiveson Figueiredo is a more worthy number-one contender than Umar Nurmagomedov, according to Merab Dvalishvili. The Georgian bantamweight is next weekโs title challenger for the Noche UFC (UFC 306) pay-per-view. He meets the champion Sean OโMalley in UFCโs first event in the Sphere. Should he get past that, Dvalishvili has Figgy in mind for a title defense.
Following his UFC on ABC 7 main event win, UFC CEO Dana White announced Umar Nurmagomedov as the next in line for OโMalleyโs gold. Merab Dvalishvili makes the case that former flyweight champ Figueiredo has had better running since his move-up. โGod of Warโ even went through former title challenger Marlon Vera very recently.
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…Umar, he only beat Cory Sandhagen from top 15. Iโm not saying โ even if I would be champion, he has to fight Sean OโMalley. I donโt think he deserves to fight for the belt…
Merab Dvalishvili in UFC 306 pre-fight interview to Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie
The Noche UFC title header fighter appeared in a pre-fight check-in where he weighed in on his cut. During the interview, Dvalishvili made his feelings known about Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) known. He also posted a distracted guy meme on his socials.
โThe Machineโ is seen frolicking about with Sean OโMalley, while in the thematic representation of the meme, he has his eyes on the โbigger fishโ Figgy. His comments even got back a reply. The meme, by photographer Antonio Guillem, was posted on the stock photo database iStock in 2015.
Deiveson Figueiredo (24-3-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC) touts wins over Chito, Rob Font, and Cody Garbrandt. He was also a marquee card opener for the milestone April UFC 300 pay-per-view event. So itโs not far off to be โdistractedโ by Figgy and his rep so far. The supposition of him as a more worthy No. 1 contender right before the UFC 306 pay-per-view has already gone viral.
Fight fans react to Merab Dvalishviliโs โdistracted guyโ meme
Figgy has largely improved to 3-0 since he moved up to the UFC bantamweight division in December 2023. The former two-time flyweight champion proved he is a legitimate threat after docking a win at Etihad Arena on Yas Island. Deiveson Figueiredo even drew a bold reaction from 135-pound kingpin Sean OโMalley, wanting to KO him.
Figgy was also the first fighter ever to knock down Vera in his 24-fight UFC career. Even โSugaโ and his violent knee could not down him at UFC 299. Hence, itโs not surprising that funnyman Merab Dvalishvili would play into the โdistracted boyfriendโ theme and flirt with this pairing. Hereโs what the MMA community thinks of the proposition.
It did not bode well for the Georgian wrestler right before his Noche UFC appearance. While some lauded his meme, a prime reaction (@Owned__) jibed, โMerab already trying to duck Umar lmao.โ A few others noted similarly.
However, the idea of Figgy already as a 135-pound title challenger excites many. Quite a few mentioned that the Brazilian is built differently and can go through all these top crops. As such, the meme has started quite a conversation. Will it be so? Only time will tell.