Merab Dvalishvili thinks it’s unfair that Umar Nurmagomedov will get to leap the UFC rankings on the power of 1 win.
Previous to Nurmagomedov beating Cory Sandhagen in Saturday’s UFC on ABC 7 headliner, Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) expressed his frustration on Nurmagomedov’s fast rise. Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) went from combating unranked Raoni Barcelos to newcomer Bekzat Almakhan to No. 2 ranked Sandhagen (17-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC).
“He has a push as a result of everyone knows why,” Dvalishvili stated in an interview with “Heavywgt MMA.” “He’s Khabib’s cousin. He’s a great fighter. I’ve all of the respect to him.”
Nurmagomedov stated he was assured a title shot with a win over Sandhagen. Quite the opposite, Dvalishvili needed to amass a 10-fight profitable streak – together with wins over former champions Jose Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo – earlier than getting his shot at gold.
“It leaves me heartbroken whenever you see generally whenever you working onerous,” Dvalishvili stated. “I wasn’t certain if I used to be getting a title battle till two weeks in the past. After I beat Jose Aldo, I used to be purported to battle for the belt. After I beat Petr Yan, I used to be purported to battle for the belt. After I beat Henry Cejudo, I wasn’t certain. …
(Nurmagomedov) is an efficient fighter, however he acquired pushed. It’s like dishonest a bit of bit to get right here. I’ve 12 fights within the UFC. I beat like seven or eight ranked fighters.”
Dvalishvili will lastly get his shot when he challenges bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) within the UFC 306 foremost occasion Sept. 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas.
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