MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Merab Dvalishvili felt rather disrespected that the UFC attempted to rush him into a short-notice primary occasion with Umar Nurmagomedov, though he would’ve been open to taking it under muchbetter scenarios.
Just days after Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) beat Petr Yan by consentaneous choice at UFC Fight Night 221 in March, the promo approached him about a fast turn-around to face unbeaten rising competitor Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in next week’s UFC on ABC 5 headliner.
Accepting the battle crossed Dvalishvili’s mind, he stated, however eventually a stickingaround hand injury, along with the truth he had currently dedicated to assisting his pal Aljamain Sterling prepare for Saturday’s UFC 288 title defense vs. Henry Cejudo, made the scenario too troublesome.
Additionally, Dvalishvili didn’t concur that Nurmagomedov is worthwhile of such a high-ranked battle.
“They did deal me Umar, however I was hurt,” Dvalishvili informed MMA Junkie on Thursday. “My hand was still not 100 percent. I did battle with my hurt hand versus Petr Yan, however to battle Umar and to book the battle