Umar Nurmagomedov Believes Merab Dvalishvili 'Created' Beef Ahead of UFC 311

Umar Nurmagomedov doesn’t think Merab Dvalishvili has any reason to hate him.

Nurmagomedov challenges Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title in the co-main event at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Dvalishvili was initially adamant about not fighting Nurmagomedov in his very first title defense. According to “The Machine,” the undefated Nurmagomedov is undeserving of a title shot despite six UFC wins under his belt. Dvalishvili accuses Nurmagomedov of being favored by the UFC due to the legacy of his family name.

Dvalishvili ultimately accepted the fight, citing intolerable insults from Nurmagomedov. The two also went off on the same topic during a promotional presser last month. However, it remains slightly unclear what insults Dvalishvili is referring to, as Nurmagomedov hasn’t seemed to cross any boundaries in terms of trash talking. Dvalishvili has vowed to slap Nurmagomedov if he doesn’t receive an apology after their fight. Nurmagomedov believes he has no reason to apologize to Dvalishvili and hopes the Georgian can back his words with action.

“I don’t see about what I have to say sorry,” Nurmagomedov recently told Shakiel Mahjouri. “For what?... Nobody’s seen [me saying anything disrespectful]. He created this because he needs some reason to hate me. And maybe he needs reason to bring his followers, his fans to support him… We’re gonna see how he gonna [slap me]. You honor your words before you say it, after that your words honor you.”

Dvalishvili is riding a 13-fight winning streak topped off by a dominant title win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 this past September. Dvalishvili also had a long road to the title, though his unwillingness to fight teammate Aljamain Sterling was also partly responsible for the delay.