MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Merab Dvalishvili felt somewhat disrespected that the UFC tried to rush him into a short-notice main event with Umar Nurmagomedov, though he would’ve been open to taking it under better circumstances.
Just days after Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) defeated Petr Yan by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 221 in March, the promotion approached him about a quick turnaround to face unbeaten surging contender Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in next week’s UFC on ABC 5 headliner.
Accepting the fight crossed Dvalishvili’s mind, he said, but ultimately a lingering hand injury, along with the fact he had already committed to helping his friend Aljamain Sterling prepare for Saturday’s UFC 288 title defense vs. Henry Cejudo, made the situation too problematic.
