Merab Dvalishvili has made it clear he has no interest in facing Umar Nurmagomedov outside of the UFC, particularly in a wrestling setting.
The former UFC bantamweight champion was scheduled to compete against Henry Cejudo at RAF 8 on Saturday before Cejudo withdrew due to injury. While attending the event, Dvalishvili (21-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) spoke with Adam Zubayraev and was asked about the possibility of a grappling or wrestling match with Nurmagomedov, whom he defeated at UFC 311 in January 2025.
Dvalishvili dismissed the idea outright, citing both personal and organizational reasons for his stance.
“No, that doesn't make sense because I'm an interesting fighter,” Dvalishvili said. “Also, UFC has rules, how they told me. UFC fighter against UFC fighter, they can’t (do that)…that's what Danny (Rubenstein) said, my manager. I don't think UFC will let us fight. But anyway, I don't like this guy because he disrespects me and I don't want to be (in) a wrestling match (with) him.”
According to Dvalishvili, his reluctance is rooted not only in UFC policy but also in lingering tension between the two fighters following their previous encounter. He pointed to social media activity from Nurmagomedov earlier this year as a key factor.
“My job is to fight whoever UFC gives me, I will fight,” he said. “If UFC gives me (Umar), I will fight back. Wrestling is just for fun. For fun, I will never do fun match up against this guy you know because it's not fun for me. He disrespected me a couple of times and tweet that. He said (that) he don't did this, but (it’s) his responsibility if his people do this, you know?”
While Dvalishvili remains open to facing Nurmagomedov again under the UFC banner, he drew a clear line when it comes to exhibition-style competition, emphasizing that personal animosity removes any appeal from a non-sanctioned matchup.
