Umar Nurmagomedov pulled out an intriguing receipt Thursday.
The undefeated bantamweight contender—currently No. 2 at 135 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings—has been in hot pursuit of UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili, who has gone to great lengths to explain why Nurmagomedov does not deserve a title shot.
Dvalishvili has frequently been backed up by teammate and close friend Aljamain Sterling, a former bantamweight champion himself. On Thursday. Nurmagomedov brought up a past comment from Sterling in which he supported Nurmagomedov’s contender candidacy.
After Nurmagomedov defeated Cory Sandhagen this past August, Sterling tweeted, “Umar earns his title shot.”
Nurmagomedov tagged Sterling on Twitter, writing, “When you weren’t afraid to speak the truth.”
@funkmasterMMA
— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv) November 28, 2024
When you weren’t afraid to speak the truth. pic.twitter.com/K5nFHoQB2D
Sterling responded almost immediately, writing, “Are you going to fight again soon or just keep doing this? I really don’t care who gets the shot. But I agree it should be based on merit for who earned it the most. Simple.”
Are you going to fight again soon or just keep doing this? I really don’t care who gets the shot. But I agree it should be based on merit for who earned it the most. Simple. https://t.co/MjniwTc1QN
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) November 28, 2024
As of now, Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov are yet to book their next fight. Dvalishvili has mentioned several other fighters as potential opponents, including Sean O’Malley, who he defeated at UFC 303 to become bantamweight champion, and former titleholder Petr Yan, who is coming off of an impressive win over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Macau.
Sterling is confused as to whether Nurmagomedov plans to fight again or if he insists on waiting for Dvalishvili.
At this point, I really don’t know. He had a fight booked with Song Yadong and all of a sudden it was canceled. I can’t make heads or tails of what’s going on. But trying to rush Merab to fight sooner than later is disingenuous https://t.co/jvEwDRi2U8
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) November 28, 2024
“He had a fight booked with Song Yadong and all of a sudden it was canceled,” Sterling wrote, responding to a question. “I can’t make heads or tails of what’s going on. But trying to rush Merab to fight sooner than later is disingenuous.”
Sterling has his own problem to worry about as he returns to the octagon next Saturday at UFC 310 to fight top featherweight contender Movsar Evloev.
