UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov scoffed at Merab Dvalishvili’s recent claims that his MMA rise is mostly due to his family legacy.
Nurmagomedov earned the biggest win of his career last weekend against Cory Sandhagen in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event. He defeated Sandhagen by unanimous decision, utilizing a well-rounded game to frustrate and stifle his opponent.
Nurmagomedov is the likely next bantamweight title challenger, set to face the Sean O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili winner. Dvalishvili and O’Malley will headline UFC 306 next month.
But according to Dvalishvili, Nurmagomedov’s push to the title is because of his UFC Hall of Fame cousin, Khabib.
In a recent interview with Heavywgt MMA, Dvalishvili weighed in on Nurmagomedov’s meteoric bantamweight rise.
“He has a push because we all know why,” Dvalishvili said of Nurmagomedov. “He’s Khabib’s cousin. He’s a good fighter. I have all the respect to him…
“It leaves me heartbroken when you see sometimes when you working hard,” Dvalishvili continued. “I wasn’t sure if I was getting a title fight until two weeks ago. After I beat Jose Aldo, I was supposed to fight for the belt. After I beat Petr Yan, I was supposed to fight for the belt. After I beat Henry Cejudo, I wasn’t sure. (Nurmagomedov) is a good fighter, but he got pushed. It’s like cheating a little bit to get here. I have 12 fights in the UFC. I beat like seven or eight ranked fighters.” (h/t MMA Junkie)
