Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov delivered a war as they battled for the bantamweight championship at UFC 311. The champion was able to go against the odds and put forward a performance that left no doubts. The Dagestani, however, wasn’t happy with the result and blamed his injury for affecting his fight.
According to Umar Nurmagomedov, he broke his left hand in the first round and wasn’t able to fight at 100 percent. During the post-fight octagon interview, the challenger said he would have to rewatch the fight to accept the result. In order to prove these claims, Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz shared a picture of the fighter’s injury.
In the early rounds, Nurmagomedov was dominant and was picking apart the champion with his striking. The wrestling was evenly matched as both fighters had incredible takedown defense. However, in the later rounds, it was Merab Dvalishvili who turned the tables with his incredible cardio.
@UNmgdv broke his hands first round no excuse no excuse Alhamdulillah for everything pic.twitter.com/p4i3IWiYWv
— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) January 19, 2025
The ‘Machine’ stayed true to his moniker and maintained the speed and pressure to out-gas Nurmagomedov. His dominance was visible as the fighter trolled the Dagestani during the fight with emotes. In the end, the champion maintained his status via a unanimous victory.
Fight fans react to Umar Nurmagomedov’s injury against Merab Dvalishvili
Ahead of the fight, there were rumors about Umar Nurmagomedov suffering from an arm injury. However, during the early rounds, the challenger was quick with his hands and kicks with no signs of struggle. But as expected, Merab Dvalishvili‘s monster cardio was the main point of difference.
Merab Dvalishvili beats Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision at UFC 311 (via X)The champion promised that he would take the mythical zero loss from Team Khabib’s record and did exactly that at UFC 311. Nevertheless, here are some reactions from the fans about the injury.
A healthy hand don’t give u cardio bro. Merab broke him with pace
— Mma Ricky (@MmaRicky) January 19, 2025
Hell of a fight by both Umar and Merab, but saying “no excuse” doesn’t erase it as an excuse. pic.twitter.com/Z7Qyjg5HsV
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) January 19, 2025
Merab came into the fight injured and with an infection. So equal grounds
— Ovin Vithanage (@OvinVithanage) January 19, 2025
Broken hand didn’t make his gas tank deplete
— JBR MMA (@JBRMMA_) January 19, 2025
Broken hand and the fight came down to one round!!
We need a rematch.
— tommy (@tmybdmn) January 19, 2025
Damn. These guys are tough. Breaking a hand early and fighting 20 minutes with a broken hand. Next level
— X (@fau1in) January 19, 2025
“no excuse no excuse oh here’s an excuse”
— Veluta (@VelutaMMA) January 19, 2025
No excuses but here you are quick to twitter to post that shit. Stfu and take the L, egghead
— Gonzi (@JonGonzalvo) January 19, 2025
The Machine broke your guy 😭
— Future (@FTREFORMED) January 19, 2025
As expected, the post was welcomed by a variety of criticism as fans accuse Team Khabib of making excuses and not taking the loss with respect. Others trolled the manager and mentioned that a broken hand doesn’t necessarily affect the cardio. Nevertheless, the majority of the fans were impressed by the champion for his performance.
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