Merab Dvalishvili didn’t lie when he said he was compromised going into his successful UFC 311 bantamweight title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) sustained multiple gashes to his right leg after colliding with a set of stairs ahead of this past Saturday’s unanimous decision victory over Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC). The wounds, which he said didn’t close until right before fight week, were still evident when he stepped into the octagon at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
According to Dvalishvili during an interview Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” he feared the California State Athletic Commission would pull him from competition. To prevent that, he revealed he hid the damage during a physical check.
