Merab Dvalishvili is gearing up for his next challenge, a bantamweight title rematch against Sean O’Malley expected at UFC 316, which will mark his second defense. However, it has recently come to light that his *first* title defense, against rising star Umar Nurmagomedov in January at UFC 311, almost didn`t happen due to Dvalishvili`s health condition.
Following his dominant victory over O’Malley last September to claim the title, Dvalishvili was quickly scheduled to fight Nurmagomedov. Given Nurmagomedov`s strong grappling background and pedigree, many considered him the toughest potential opponent for the Georgian champion at the time, presenting a significant challenge even for a fully healthy Dvalishvili.
Despite entering the bout as an underdog, Dvalishvili secured one of his most impressive wins by successfully defending his title against Nurmagomedov. What makes this victory even more remarkable is the revelation that he accomplished it while far from peak physical health.
Merab Dvalishvili’s head coach, John Wood, shared insights into the situation with MMA Fighting.
“I think that Umar was going to be the toughest fight for Merab at the time,” Wood said. “I think we’ll end up fighting him again some time and same thing, we beat them. They asked for the fight and [they came out] ‘Oh I’m injured, I’m this, I’m that.’ Well, Merab was half-dead for that fight.”
“You don’t understand, he had an open wound, he had a staph infection, he was on all kinds of antibiotics. I personally, if it was up to me honestly, and I haven’t really told anybody, I probably would have pulled him out of the fight. I honestly would have.”
This disclosure sheds new light on Dvalishvili’s performance, highlighting his ability to push through adversity and eventually outwork Nurmagomedov, taking control in the later rounds.
While Dvalishvili is renowned for his incredible conditioning and relentless pace over 25 minutes, his coach understandably harbored concerns, particularly with the champion battling a staph infection and undergoing antibiotic treatment. Studies suggest that antibiotics can significantly impair athletic performance, yet Wood was astonished by Dvalishvili’s determination to stay on schedule for the Nurmagomedov fight.
“It was that bad but that dude that could barely walk but then he goes spar 10 rounds and looks phenomenal,” Wood said. “So I knew he could do it. So I knew that in the room, I was like we’re going to win this fight but in the back of my head, I was like Jesus, he’s so banged up.”
Despite not being at his physical best, Dvalishvili delivered a classic performance, ultimately earning a unanimous decision victory.
Following the fight, Nurmagomedov spoke about his own injuries, specifically a severe broken hand sustained during the first round.
While Wood has sympathy for fighters dealing with injuries, he finds it difficult to feel overly sorry for Nurmagomedov, especially considering the challenges Dvalishvili faced leading up to the bout.
“The fact that Umar’s like ‘Oh, I’ve got a busted hand.’ You guys asked for the fight,” Wood stated. “We wanted to fight later on. We said we’d fight you. You wanted to take time off for Ramadan. So they pushed for it and took the fight.”
“Then it’s ‘oh we’ve got this [injury], we’ve got that.’ Whatever, it’s the same thing. Everybody is always going to have those excuses.”
Interestingly, Dvalishvili also dealt with a significant injury before his first fight against O’Malley where he won the title. He later revealed he had a hip injury that severely limited his grappling training during that camp.
O’Malley underwent surgery to fix his hip issue and has promised a much-improved performance in their upcoming rematch scheduled for June 7.
Regardless of the outcome of the rematch, Wood asserts that Dvalishvili will never resort to making excuses for a win or a loss, a trait he doesn`t expect to change.
“I will tell you this, if Merab ever loses that belt, you will not hear excuses from him,” Wood affirmed. “You will not hear ‘oh my leg was falling off, it was raining outside’ or whatever it is they come up with. Umar was a tough fight. There was no doubt in my mind Merab was going to win that fight. The way that Merab fights, what he brings to the table is just different. People do not understand it.”
“That’s why this fight is kind of intriguing because Sean kind of knows that now. Tim [Welch] knows that, they’ve kind of felt that. What’s going to happen is they’re going to have a good round or maybe a good round or two, but once things start the same way they did before, it’s going to be even more defeating and deflating than it was the first time. That’s where it brings a different kind of matchup for us.”
Even when injured or sick, Wood knows Dvalishvili is always ready to fight. If the UFC allowed it, he believes Merab would be the most active champion on the roster.
“He loves to fight,” Wood concluded. “He wants to fight three more times after this if he can. If he could fight every other month, he would.”
