Umar Nurmagomedov picks Merab Dvalishvili to
still be champion by the end of the year 🦾🇬🇪“I’ve hit Merab clean myself — he didn’t even flinch. Tough guy.
He’s really hard to knock out. He’s got cardio for days, and he’s
just got brute strength. It’s not like he’s got advanced… pic.twitter.com/dh0AuObotY— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
June 15, 2025
Advertisement
Umar
Nurmagomedov believes it’s unlikely that Merab
Dvalishvili will be dethroned anytime soon.
Dvalishvili made his first bantamweight title defense against
Nurmagomedov at UFC 311
this past January. While Nurmagomedov was widely considered to be
the toughest challenge in the division for Dvalishvili, the champ
spoiled the challenger’s undefeated record. Dvalishvili has since
submitted Sean O’Malley in a rematch at UFC 316
earlier this month.
Nurmagomedov believes Dvalishvili is hard to beat in every way,
even by a puncher’s chance — because Nurmagomedov landed flush on
him when they fought and was unable to draw any reaction.
Nurmagomedov notes that Dvalishvili is just a sheer force of nature
with unusual power and cardio.
Nurmagomedov believes Dvalishvili doesn’t even have elite grappling
skills but makes up for it with pure pressure. With Cory
Sandhagen expected to be next in line for a title shot,
Nurmagomedov wonders how his former fallen foe will handle “The
Machine.”
“I’ve hit Merab clean myself, he didn’t even flinch. Tough guy,”
Nurmagomeov told Adam
Zubayraev. “I feel like he’s really hard to knock out. So yeah,
I think Merab might be [still champion at the end of the year]. If
he doesn’t retire before the rematch [with me], he might be
champion. Because he’s got cardio for days and that kind of raw
power. He’s just got brute strength. He wrestles with pure
pressure; he doesn’t even need to hold you. It’s not like he’s got
advanced grappling skills or anything. No control, no submissions.
Just brute force. He can’t even hold people down properly. Just
overwhelms them. Don’t know how Cory will handle that.”
Sandhagen’s only loss in the past four outings has come against
Nurmagomedov. While he is expected to be the next contender, Dana
White also entertained the idea of a rematch between Dvalishvili
and Nurmagomedov. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili is in the midst of a
13-fight winning streak.