Umar Nurmagomedov is currently scheduled to fight Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC bantamweight championship at UFC 311. However, Dvalishvili is not a fan of the Dagestani’s title contention and has made fun of him. In the process, the champ has now disrespected top bantamweight Cory Sandhagen.
Umar Nurmagomedov got the title opportunity by defeating Sandhagen, who was earlier the #2 ranked fighter. However, Dvalishvili frequently called it a gift that didn’t sit well with the ‘Sandman.’ In a recent interview, Sandhagen expressed his newborn animosity towards the reigning bantamweight champion.
Merab’s been talking a little bit of shit, I kinda wanna watch Merab get served up a little bit…I’m on team Umar now. I used to be nice to Merab that’s why it hurt so bad when he started talking so much sh**.
Cory Sandhagen via MiddleEasy
Cory Sandhagen is well known for staying away from controversies and not having any kind of beef with other fighters. As a result, his latest frustration towards Merab Dvalishvili has caught the attention of many fans. This is also after the ongoing narrative about the Georgian fighter being afraid of losing his title against Nurmagomedov.
After the fight announcement, during the first press conference, both fighters exchanged various personal insults. Given their recent history and bad blood, fight fans are expecting a brutal showdown between the fighters. Ahead of the fight, many experts have already given their predictions.
Former UFC double champion predicts Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Merab Dvalishvili has proved himself again and again on various occasions. The fighter has stopped some of the biggest legends of the sport like Henry Cejudo, Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, etc. He had to wait for a long time to finally get his chance at the UFC gold. As a result, he didn’t like Umar Nurmagomedov’s rapid rise.
Umar Nurmagomedov (via Imago)However, at UFC 311 all these questions will be answered. Cejudo recently did an interview with Khabib Nurmagomedov and talked about the fight. During the conversation, the UFC legend had high words of praise for Umar.
I think Merab’s a good fight for Umar. I think Umar is just stylistically too f****ng good man. Even for me, I’m thinking about going down because of your cousin.
Henry Cejudo via Pound 4 Pound Podcast
Umar Nurmagomedov is currently one of the most complete fighters on the UFC roster. Being from Dagestan, he has great wrestling. On top of that, his kickboxing background has developed his striking skills to the next level. It will be interesting to see how he does in front of the relentless pressure of Dvalishvili.
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