Merab Dvalishvili once again silenced the doubters with another huge win, handing Umar Nurmagomedov his first career loss at UFC 311.
Coming into the fight, Merab Dvalishvili was the underdog despite being the reigning champion and was being counted out by the majority of fans and pundits.
‘The Machine’ once again showcased his weaponized cardio and went on to dominate rounds three, four, and five, retaining his bantamweight title.
Following the fight, Dvalishvili made a crazy claim that he broke his back during his training camp whilst also pulling back the curtain on his terrible shin injury.
Merab Dvalishvili explains how he tricked the commission ahead of UFC 311
Although Nurmagomedov used the excuse of breaking his hand in the first round, it was Dvalishvili’s injury troubles that put this fight in jeopardy prior to UFC 311.
Not far out from their fight, the Georgian suffered a brutal injury to his shin which required stitches and subsequently led to an infection which meant he couldn’t use his right leg during a lot of his camp.
The fight took place in Inglewood California and was sanctioned by the California State Athletic Commission which is regarded as one of the stricter commissions.
Ahead of his fight, the champion was worried that the commission wouldn’t let him fight if they saw the state of his shin which was only partially healed from his injury.
And with that, Dvalishvili explained how he channeled his inner Michael Bisping and tricked the commission during examinations.
“California has a very strict commission and they check everything on your body,” Merab began to explain in an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“On Thursday (before the fight) I had my pants on and the commission guy asked me to show him my legs and shins. So I lifted my pants and showed him my left leg shin and he kept talking.
“And then the second time he asked me to show him the other leg, I showed him my left leg again and he didn’t realize, he never clocked. Who knows, maybe I could pass (if I showed him my right leg but I didn’t want to risk it),” he continued.
What’s next for Merab Dvalishvili following UFC 311?
Dvalishvili is putting together a historic run in the bantamweight division, currently riding the longest win streak in the division’s history.
During his UFC 311 performance, ‘The Machine’ also broke Georges St-Pierre’s UFC record for the most amount of takedowns.
With the Georgian continuing to showcase himself as the greatest bantamweight of all time, he will likely defend his title against Sean O’Malley next in a big rematch.
O’Malley was in attendance at UFC 311 with his coach, Tim Welch, who has an ongoing rivalry with Dvalishvili and his team.
Although ‘Suga’ hasn’t picked up another win since losing the title to Merab back at UFC 306, UFC boss Dana White has recently hinted that the star will be the next challenger.
Despite the fact that Dvalishvili was only given a seven-day medical suspension, he will likely take some extended time away from the Octagon to fully heal the injuries he came into his fight against Nurmagomedov with.