UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is fuming ahead of his first title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) meets Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the UFC 311 (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) co-main event Jan. 18 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Nurmagomedov has antagonized Dvalishvili for the past couple of months, accusing him of being scared. The pair continued to trade barbs during the UFC 311 pre-fight press conference last week, and “The Machine” has had enough.
He demands an apology from Nurmagomedov.
“I’m a man first,” Dvalishvili said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “If you come to my face and if you disrespect me, you’re going to get slapped. Don’t try that because I’m a man, and I will never forgive you, even if I have to go to jail. I don’t care, man. I have so much to lose. I don’t care (about) this belt. I don’t care (about) this money. I don’t care (about) this legacy.
“I’m a man, I live in a respectful way, and that’s all I believe. I don’t care. Especially now I’m a U S. citizen, I can f*cking fight, beat the sh*t out of these motherf*ckers, and I have no problem to pay the bill, ticket, or go to jail. I don’t care because don’t disrespect me.”
Dvalishvili was involved in a fan altercation while cornering teammate Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310. While Dvalishvili was recording Sterling walking to the back, he was grabbed in the arm by a fan, who allegedly began insulting him. That prompted his teammate, Dennis Buzukja, to throw punches at the fan while Dvalishvili was restrained by security.
Dvalishvili accused Nurmagomedov’s team of provoking the incident and is even willing to let things escalate after the fight, where he vows not to hold back until he gets his respect.
“He may get a slap after the fight,” Dvalishvili said. “The fight in the octagon is not a real fight; it’s a sport. If Umar does not apologize to me, it’s going to happen. Even if I have to go in Dagestan, I will go. I love Dagestan. I have so many friends in Dagestan, and I respect the Dagestan people. They’re good people.
“But Umar made big mistake with me, and Umar has to pay for this. But my support and my love for the Dagestan people (is there), and I still respect Khabib’s team, Islam, and everybody else. But I have problem with only Umar. I don’t want to fix this problem before the fight, but after the fight, I want to fight him.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
