Umar Nurmagomedov predicts Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili outcome and reveals how UFC could book their rematch
Umar Nurmagomedov revealed how the UFC could book his rematch with Merab Dvalishvili depending on the outcome of Petr Yan vs. Dvalishvili at UFC 333.
Predicting the trilogy bout between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title, set for UFC 333, Umar Nurmagomedov has laid out how the bantamweight division will move forward and how he will end up having his chance to avenge his loss against Dvalishvili.
Umar Nurmagomedov lays out how UFC could book his rematch with Merab Dvalishvili after UFC 333
Nurmagomedov's only career loss came at the hands of his biggest rival, Dvalishvili, at UFC 311 in January 2025. In the lead-up to the fight, both exchanged verbal jabs, continuing even after the fight. Things have now taken a drastic turn and gotten personal, even bringing their countries into heated words of exchange, and Nurmagomedov’s fan confronted the Georgian, leading to an altercation back in July.
This ongoing trash talk has already built excitement for their potential rematch. Now speaking to the UFC, Nurmagomedov feels that everything depends on how Yan vs. Dvalishvili goes at UFC 333. He believes that if the Georgian wins, he is surely next for the fight.
“Anyways, I wanna fight. If it's not for the title, I can fight with anybody. But it will depend on how Merab and Petr fight,” Nurmagomedov said. “If Petr is gonna win, I think they should give the chance to O’Malley. They're gonna do rematch. I expect that, If Merab gonna win, I think I'm next,”
However, he also predicts that Yan will again get his hand raised over Dvalishvili and suggests that UFC will then be more interested in booking his fight ‘The Machine'
“I'm expecting maybe Petr gonna beat him again and maybe they will try to do revenge with me and Merab. Maybe it's gonna happen like that,” Nurmagomedov added.
Check out Umar Nurmagomedov's comments below:
Firstly, Nurmagomedov has to get past Song Yadong, who is set to fight him this weekend at UFC Shanghai. A win will extend his win streak to three, and a dominant performance could put him in position to face the winner of Yan vs Dvalishvili.
The rivalries between the Georgian and the Dagestani continued to make headlines, and most recently, ‘The Machine’ emphasized that he has no problem with other Dagestani fighters but with the former title challenger.
Merab Dvalishvili explains why he hates Umar Nurmagomedov
Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Dvalishvili reflected on his rivalry with Nurmagomedov, saying he only hates him and his manager, and added that they disrespected him online and continue to do so.
“The only guys I don’t like from Dagestan are Umar and his sneaky manager, Rizvan, who helped Umar disrespect me on X and Threads. I think Umar is spoiled. He disrespected me. I’m hurt, I’m mad. Every time he gets a chance, he disrespects me. He even disrespected my win against Petr Yan,” Dvalishvili said.
