UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is fuming ahead of his first title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) meets Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the UFC 311 (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) co-main event Jan. 18 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Nurmagomedov has antagonized Dvalishvili for the past couple of months, accusing him of being scared. The pair continued to trade barbs during the UFC 311 pre-fight press conference last week, and “The Machine” has had enough.