Merab Dvalishvili blames Umar Nurmagomedov for sparking viral fan altercation at UFC 310: "More lies, disrespect, and deliberate provocations"
Merab Dvalishvili last entered the octagon in September as he defeated Sean O'Malley via unanimous decision to capture the bantamweight title. He will attempt to defend the belt for the first time next month when he faces Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311.
'The Machine' was on hand at UFC 310 where he was involved in an altercation with a fan. He took to Instagram on Sunday to blame his upcoming opponent for being behind the incident. Dvalishvili shared a video that included pictures of Nurmagomedov with the fan, with a voiceover stating:
"Exposing the guy who grabs Merab's arm physically and assaults him - is not just a fan but teammate and friend of Umar and Dagestanis. You can see Merab walking, filming his friend [Aljamain Sterling] when guy grabs his arm and starts insulting him with a phone in his hand. Turns out he is not just fan from Kazakhstan, but a provoker, and as Merab said, he was insulting him."
The video continued:
"Later that day, Umar posts story with the guy and his squad. And there is even more pictures from years ago with him and Dagestanis. Media says Merab got into with a fan and the guy himself says Merab said something about Shavkat losing while Kazakhstan media promoted it like Merab disrespected Shavkat and the guy is hero, but obviously this is not coincidence. Merab is good with Shavkat and all this happened in 15 seconds. This was just Dagestanis dirty trick and provocation."
Dvalishvili captioned the post:
"More lies, disrespect, and deliberate provocations from Umar’s team. Here’s the real story …"
Check out Merab Dvalishvili's post blaming Umar Nurmagomedov for the fan altercation below:
Dvalishvili previously accused Nurmagomedov of disrespecting him after he won the title. The nature of the No.2-ranked bantamweight's relationship with the fan is unclear, however, 'Young Eagle' and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev both shared photos with him after UFC 310.
Merab Dvalishvili previously accused Umar Nurmagomedov of lying about disrespect
Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov stole the show at the UFC 311 press conference as the two heatedly exchanged words. The bantamweight champion accused the division's No.2-ranked contender of lying about disrespecting him.
'The Machine' took to X following the incident to share a video of the back-and-forth as well as previous tweets from his upcoming opponent, captioning the post:
"This guy is getting a gift to fight me - Didn’t move up the ranks on his own - just thru one ranked fight and a last name. He is a spoiled brat who continuously spews lies and disrespect. Tune in to UFC311 and he will get exactly what he deserves! 🦾 [Georgian flag]"
Check out the tweet from Merab Dvalishvili below:
Dvalishvili also exchanged words backstage with Nurmagomedov and his camp. The two sides had to be separated by security, however, the recent weekend of events has brought even more hype to an already stacked card.