Betrayal? Merab Dvalishvili Once Helped A Fighter ‘Live Like A Human,’ So Now He’s Training With UFC 311 Rival Umar Nurmagomedov

UFC 311’s bad blood might have gotten worse.

In two weeks (Sat., Jan. 18, 2025), the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view (PPV) is going down inside the brand-new Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California, and in the co-main event of UFC 311, Merab Dvalishvili will defend his Bantamweight title against rival Umar Nurmagomedov.

The two Bantamweights have had some serious bad blood since “The Machine” won the title, whether it be jawing at each other on social media, screaming at each other at press conferences, or even getting separated at said press conference.

Dvalishvili was even locked out of the UFC P.I. because of Nurmagomedov.

However, things might have taken a potentially “sad” turn.

Georgian reporter Giorgi Kokiashvili posted a picture revealing that one of Dvalishvilli’s friends is training with Nurmagomedov (and it’s not Belal).

“This pic broke my heart a little bit,” Kokiashvili wrote. “Magdi Amachov is helping Umar Nurmagomedov to prepare for Merab Dvalishvili. Merab helped Magdi to live like a human being in the US. He didn’t have a home, and Merab gave him a room for free in his own house and helped a lot. It’s just sad.”

“The people who said Merab and Aljo should fight each other despite being the best friends, are now saying this is totally OK,” he added. “Crazy world we live in. Wonder how much silver you guys need to sell your friends. Many Judas out there.”

It’s not the first time a fighter’s buddy has helped out an opponent, but this one might hit Dvalishvili a little closer to home, and he might even have something to say about it next week.

For what it’s worth, Amachov, an amateur MMA Fighter with a 2-1 record, posted on his Instagram that he wishes both fighters good luck. He said the champion helped him out in a bad time and that he has developed a good brotherly relationship with Nurmagomedov.