Umar Nurmagomedov and Aljamain Sterling have been going back and forth on X (formerly Twitter), with Nurmagomedov accusing Sterling's friend, Merab Dvalishvili, the reigning bantamweight champion, of avoiding a fight with him.
Sterling refuted Nurmagomedov's claims, stating that Dvalishvili is not avoiding the fight, but simply needs time like any other champion.
Nurmagomedov delivered an impressive performance against Cory Sandhagen in August, winning the fight via unanimous decision. This victory positioned him as a top contender for the bantamweight title. He was hoping for a title shot against the winner of the fight between then-champion Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.
At UFC Noche 306, headlined by the bantamweight title fight between Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, the Georgian fighter secured a victory over O'Malley by unanimous decision. During the post-fight octagon interview, when Joe Rogan asked about his first title defense, Dvalishvili avoided mentioning Nurmagomedov's name.
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Dvalishvili is ready to fight in March, but Nurmagomedov, being Muslim, doesn’t fight during Ramadan. On the other hand, the Georgian was prepared for a rematch against O'Malley in November, which led the Dagestani fighter to accuse Dvalishvili of avoiding a potential clash with him.
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Sterling stepped in to defend Dvalishvili and stated that the champ needed time to prepare for Nurmagomedov's style of fighting and was not avoiding him. He assured that the...
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