“Khabib (Nurmagomedov) never lost before. I will be the first who gives him loss.” Bold words from Merab Dvalishvili before UFC 311. But guess what? He backed them up. Not only did he defeat Umar Nurmagomedov, but he did it with style. Throwing a smirk at the Dagestani leader himself in the process. And if you thought the fight was the end of it, oh no. ‘The Machine’ made sure to twist the knife a little deeper when ranking his last five opponents on difficulty.
So, let’s talk about this list. When asked in Georgian to rank his last five opponents, the former undefeated Dagestani, who, mind you, gave Dvalishvili serious problems in the first two rounds, came in at No. 5. Below Sean O’Malley, Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, and the toughest of them all, Jose Aldo. Now, before Team Khabib starts sharpening their pitchforks, let’s break it down.
Aldo topping the list? Makes perfect sense. The man stuffed 16 takedown attempts in their UFC 278 fight and still kept it competitive. Yan, who got thrown around for 11 takedowns (literally no mercy) out of the ridiculous 49 attempted, came in second. Olympic gold medalist and double champ ‘Triple C’ took third. While ‘Suga’ who spent most of their fight horizontal, landed fourth. And ‘Young Eagle’? Well, let’s just say the champ wasn’t exactly impressed.
Now, we could pretend this was just a casual ranking, but come on. This was a statement. Beating a Nurmagomedov is one thing. Rubbing it in is another level of pettiness. And Merab Dvalishvili? He’s thriving in it. The relentless pressure, the cardio, the non-stop takedowns, this wasn’t just about winning. It was about making sure Team Khabib knew exactly who ‘The Machine’ is. But did the “old guy” really deliver? Or did he get lucky?
Was Merab Dvalishvili’s previous defense just a fluke?
Let’s talk about the classic post-fight excuse. mar Nurmagomedov blamed a broken hand. And Dvalishvili’s coach, John Wood, was having none of it. “I don’t think a broken hand affects your cardio from the last I checked. Your hand and your lungs aren’t connected.” Hence, safe to say the kid gassed out.
So, now that Umar Nurmagomedov’s excuse is off the table, what’s next for the champ? Well, the UFC seems hell-bent on setting up an O’Malley rematch, but does anyone actually want to see that again? The first fight was about as competitive as a hammer versus a nail. And Dvalishvili, he’s got bigger plans. A few months ago, he said, “I want to be busy in 2025. I’m fighting early, on January 18th, and I wanna be busy. I know O’Malley wants to come back in April, I think Petr (Yan) will be ready in March. So, maybe fight Petr in March, rematch (O’Malley) in April. And whoever is the next contender, I will clear the division again.”
Three fights in four months? Absolutely unhinged. But hey, that’s why they call him ‘The Machine.’ While other champs take a victory lap, he is out here trying to run through an entire division before summer. But here we are, already deep into March, and his name hasn’t popped up yet. So, is everything still going according to plan, or are we looking at a detour? Anyway, Merab Dvalishvili isn’t just here to win. He’s here to dominate, mock excuses, and keep ‘The Machine’ rolling. And if the Dagestani team needs a little more time to process that loss, well the rankings speak for themselves. So, who do you think is next? Yan? O’Malley? A new challenger? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
The post Humiliating Team Khabib After Defeat, Merab Dvalishvili Delivers Strong Statement on Sean O’Malley & Others appeared first on EssentiallySports.