"We all know what happened with Khabib" - Merab Dvalishvili reveals surprising precautions for UFC 311 travel
Merab Dvalishvili has done his best to avoid any incidents ahead of his UFC 311 title fight against Umar Nurmagomedov on Jan. 18. 'The Machine' prepared for the bout in Las Vegas, and has taken every necessary precaution while traveling from 'Sin City' to Los Angeles, where the pay-per-view (PPV) card will take place.
On episode 3 of the UFC's Embedded series, the bantamweight champion revealed that he would be driving to Los Angeles to avoid potential incidents. This was in reference to Khabib Nurmagomedov's recent ordeal with Frontier Airlines, as 'The Eagle' was removed from one of their aircrafts prior to take off.
'The Machine' said:
"We are staying in Las Vegas. Tonight I'm going to California, I'd rather drive. We all know what happened with Khabib, they kicked [him] out. So I don't want the same thing to happen to me. So I'd rather go with my car, with my friends. In the car we'll be cool."
Catch Merab Dvalishvili's comments below (7:38):
Merab Dvalishvili slams "bulls**t guy" Umar Nurmagomedov ahead of UFC 311
Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov have exchanged some fiery words with each other in the build up to their bantamweight title fight at UFC 311. 'Young Eagle' accused the reigning bantamweight champion of avoiding a fight with him after Dvalishvili had dismissed Nurmagomedov as a worthy contender in the past.
The Dagestani's accusation did not sit well with 'The Machine,' who then threatened to slap his upcoming opponent if he did not apologize for disrespecting him.
Their verbal feud is yet to subside ahead of their title fight on Jan. 18, at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Most recently, the Georgian accused the 29-year old of faking an injury.
During an interview with MMA Fighting, Dvalishvili said:
"He's a bulls**t guy. I'm not buying his bulls**t... His injury. Like, he has little injury in his arm. I had injury, big injury, but I don't mention this. I'm not bringing it up this one... He says he was training and I saw he was punching bags very good when he arrived in Vegas. You can go and see in the video he posted. He was punching bag and if you have any problem with your hand, you won't be able to punch the bag."
Catch Merab Dvalishvili's comments on Umar Nurmagomedov below: