Merab Dvalishvili hopes Umar Nurmagomedov gets ‘whooped’ in his next fight.
If you know the UFC Bantamweight Champion, you know he wasn’t really a fan of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin Umar Nurmagomedov getting a title opportunity against him at UFC 311.
Prior to fighting for the belt, Nurmagomedov was 6-0 in the UFC and had one win over the top 5, defeating Dvalishvili’s next title challenger Cory Sandhagen last year.
Merab Dvalishvili successfully defended his title against Nurmagomedov by decision in January, sending the contender back to the drawing board.
The champ has stated in the past it might take multiple fights for Nurmagomedov to earn a rematch.
Dvalishvili was recently asked what he thinks of Nurmagomedov’s upcoming fight against #8-ranked contender Mario Bautista, whose win streak is only second to his in the bantamweight division.
- READ MORE: Merab Dvalishvili names next opponent ahead of UFC 320 title defense as he reveals ‘impossible’ goal
Merab Dvalishvili says Mario Bautista ‘could be next’ with Umar Nurmagomedov win
The well-rounded Bautista will look to make it nine wins in a row when he meets Nurmagomedov at UFC 321 on Oct. 25.
Bautista is coming off of back-to-back decision wins over former world champions Patchy Mix and Jose Aldo.
Dvalishvili eyes a future title defense against Bautista after his next opponent Sandhagen and possibly Petr Yan.
“I hope Bautista whoop Umar’s ass and I will fight Bautista next because Bautista is a good, good fighter,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie.
“He is on a good winning streak. He beat a lot of good guys and he’s most deserving guy, too,” Dvalishvili said of The MMA Lab product.
“Bautista’s cousin’s name is not Khabib. That’s why he needs to have a 9-fight win streak to maybe, maybe fight for the belt,” the champion explained.
“Some people can get a title fight after 6-fight win streak, fighting nobodies, without ranked opponents.”
Nurmagomedov was on a six-fight win streak when he fought Dvalishvili, with only one ranked opponent on his resume.
“So, yeah, Bautista could be next,” Dvalishvili said after Sandhagen and Yan.
Cory Sandhagen gets second title opportunity at UFC 320
UFC 320 will be the first time Cory Sandhagen gets to fight for the undisputed title.
Sandhagen has been on the UFC roster since 2018, and he fought for the interim bantamweight title in 2021, while coming off a loss to TJ Dillashaw.
‘Sandman’ was unsuccessful in capturing the title, having lost a decision over the distance to former champion Petr Yan at UFC 267.
Sandhagen meets Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event of UFC 320 on Oct. 4. The 33-year-old is the only active UFC fighter that can lay claim to beating the 16-2 Mario Bautista.