Russian professional mixed martial artist in the UFC bantamweight division Umar Nurmagomedov, cousin of Khabib, took to his Twitter account to say that Dana White and the UFC offered him a fight against Georgian fighter Merab Dvalishvili for the no. 1 contender spot. Unfortunately, that is too soon for Dvalishvili to return to action.
"Merab has an injury, I wish him a speedy recovery, but I’m waiting to share the cage with him June or July," Umar Nurmagomedov said.
Markedly, Dvalishvili suffered a hand injury two weeks before his fight against ‘No Mercy’. While he kept the details of the injury hidden, he fought with one hand. The Serra-Longo Fight Team representative recently disclosed he reinjured his hand during the fight.
The undefeated Nurmagomedov (16-0) has widely been considered the future of Bantamweight since arriving in UFC in Jan. 2021, winning four straight. Nurmagomedov’s last victory came in Jan. 2023, scoring a sensational first-round knockout of Raoni Barcelos. The Russian contender on the rise has since tried to get big-name fights with anyone willing to take him on.
