Umar Nurmagomedov Fires Back at Aljamain Sterling, Slams Merab Dvalishvili for “Ducking” UFC Fight
Many UFC fans expected Umar Nurmagomedov to be next in line for the UFC bantamweight title shot against Merab Dvalishvili. Nurmagomedov wanted to fight for the title this year but Dvalishvili was reluctant to wait until March 2025 to defend his title against the Dagestani contender. The problem with that is Nurmagomedov observes Ramadan during March and wouldn’t be available.
Aljamain Sterling backs Merab Dvalishvili
Umar Nurmagomedov called out Dvalishvili for not accepting a fight with him and “ducking” him while being willing to defend his title against Sean O’Malley. Aljamain Sterling, who is very close friends with Dvalishvili, was quick to defend him for not accepting a fight with Nurmagomedov. Sterling stated on ‘X’:
“You guys are exhausting. Constantly repeating stuff that makes NO sense. He just won the belt. Merab is Christian, not Muslim. Making one man’s religious beliefs the cause for “ducking” is baffling. How the heck is that Merab’s fault?? Make it make sense..That’s right, you can’t!”
Umar Nurmagomedov Fires back
Nurmagomedov was quick to fire back on ‘X’ responding to Sterling’s comments on Dvalishvili. The reply led to an immediate response from Sterling once again vouching for his friend and bantamweight champion.
Umar Nurmagomedov stated that ‘The Machine’ was willing to fight Sean O’Malley again for the second time this year in November but didn’t want to fight him. Sterling then said it’s because O’Malley and Nurmagomedov are two different fighters stylistically and needs more time to prepare and recover.
Umar Nurmagomedov vs Song Yadong?
It was recently reported that Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong were set to highlight UFC Tampa in December. After reports came out Yadong’s coach, Uriah Faber, said there wasn’t anything signed yet and an ideal fight between the two would be targeted for UFC 311 in January.
It should be interesting to see whether this fight takes place or not as it was already a surprise matchup. Nurmagomedov was already promised the next title shot as the No. 2 ranked bantamweight and a fight against No. 8 ranked Song Yadong would have him fighting down in the rankings. It should be interesting to see what unfolds for the Dagestani.
