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Merab Dvalishvili is nearing his first official defense of the UFC bantamweight title and the Georgian champion will need all the help he can get. That’s because Dvalishvili will be going up against undefeated sensation Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 from Inglewood, California. Nurmagomedov is the cousin of former UFC lightweight champion and undefeated all-time great, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Despite coming off a unanimous decision win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 to win the UFC bantamweight crown, Dvalishvili is currently a +275 underdog entering his clash with Nurmagomedov at UFC 311. That’s also due in part to Nurmagomedov being 18-0 (6-0 UFC) and coming off a lopsided win over Cory Sandhagen last August. He arguably has better wrestling than Dvalishvili and has a pretty robust arsenal on the feet as well. It will be a tough challenge for Dvalishvili as he looks to earn more stripes as champion.
Luckily, Dvalishvili has the support of his home country of Georgia, which includes fellow countryman and UFC champion, Ilia Topuria. The two are more than just acquaintances and fully support one another as UFC titleholders. In fact, Dvalishvili intends to ask “El Matador” to help corner him at UFC 311 later this month. That’s if the UFC featherweight king has time in his busy schedule.
Check it out below:
“Yeah I’m going to ask Ilia [Topuria] if he wants this, we will see,” said Dvalishvili.
“I’m going to ask Ilia if he has time and go from there,” he later added.
What do you think fight fans? Does Dvalishvili have a better chance of defeating Umar Nurmagomedov with Topuria in his corner?
Insomnia
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| Joe Rogan has publicly retracted his comments suggesting Jon Jones has asked the UFC for $30 million dollars to fight Tom Aspinall.
“It is not true, Dana contacted me and said that rumor is bulls***.”
Rogan now claims that Jones is more likely to retire than fight… pic.twitter.com/ao5YPFK6cZ
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) January 9, 2025
Does this reveal by Raul Rosas Jr. go too hard?
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Umar Nurmagomedov says he will fight 3 times this year, and believes that Sean O’Malley will face the winner of the fight between him and Merab:
“Whoever wins this fight, I think O’Malley is next. [O’Malley] wants Merab to win, not because of a rematch, he thinks Merab gonna be… pic.twitter.com/8fXKUrJIDd
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 10, 2025
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I’ll break the fourth wall here.
I know the Masvidal fight is unlikely. But could you imagine it in Miami.
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A TKO dream!
CINEMA!— Oban Elliott Official (@obanelliottufc) January 8, 2025
Slips, rips, and KO clips
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UFC 192: Cormier vs Gustafsson
October 3rd 2015 pic.twitter.com/FWl3Lpvf75
— Underrated Tribal Chief (@MMAUnderrated) January 9, 2025
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Sleep well Maniacs! We’ll be back for more tomorrow night.
