Umar Nurmagomedov receiving UFC push leaves Merab Dvalishvili a little ‘heartbroken’

August 6, 2024 12:10 pm ET

Merab Dvalishvili thinks it’s unfair that Umar Nurmagomedov gets to jump the UFC rankings on the strength of one win.

Prior 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 quick rise. Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) went from fighting unranked Raoni Barcelos to newcomer Bekzat Almakhan to No. 2 ranked Sandhagen (17-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC).

“He has a push because we all know why,” Dvalishvili said in an interview with “Heavywgt MMA.” “He’s Khabib’s cousin. He’s a good fighter. I have all the respect to him.”

Nurmagomedov said he was guaranteed a title shot with a win over Sandhagen. On the contrary, Dvalishvili had to amass a 10-fight winning streak – including wins over former champions Jose Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo – before getting his shot at gold.

“It leaves me heartbroken when you see sometimes when you working hard,” Dvalishvili said. “I wasn’t sure if I was getting a title fight until two weeks ago. After I beat Jose Aldo, I was supposed to fight for the belt. After I beat Petr Yan, I was supposed to fight for the belt. After I beat Henry Cejudo, I wasn’t sure. …

(Nurmagomedov) is a good fighter, but he got pushed. It’s like cheating a little bit to get here. I have 12 fights in the UFC. I beat like seven or eight ranked fighters.”

Dvalishvili will finally get his shot when he challenges bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) in the UFC 306 main event Sept. 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 7.

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