Umar Nurmagomedov disputes first loss vs. Merab Dvalishvili

Umar Nurmagomedov doesn’t believe Merab Dvalishvili was the rightful winner of their UFC 311 title fight.

In his first statement after exiting the octagon following Dvalishvili’s (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) unanimous decision win to retain the bantamweight title on Saturday, Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) said he has “no excuses” for failing to get his hand raised for the first time in his career.

However, Nurmagomedov said in his heart and mind he thought the result should’ve gone in his favor, and he can’t be convinced otherwise (via Instagram):

There are no excuses.
InshaAllah я стану чемпионом
The rest is not important.
Praise Allah in any situation

And I don’t think I’ve lost this battle
If even the whole world will convince me otherwise.

Deal with the injuries and get back on track
InshaAllah

In the immediate aftermath of the fight during his in-cage interview with Joe Rogan, Nurmagomedov revealed he suffered a hand injury in the opening round, which was later confirmed with images circulated by his management. He put on a competitive performance for the rest of the fight even while dealing with that, but the degree to which it hindered him is something only Nurmagomedov knows.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.