Reigning UFC bantamweight queen Merab Dvalishvili recently appeared on the Pounds 4 Pounds podcast and revealed his battle plans for 2026. ‘The Machine’ also sought out his former opponent, Umar Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili has already defended his title three times in 2025. He first defeated Umar in January, then submitted Sean O’Malley in a rematch in June and made a quick turnaround to defeat Cory Sandhagen in October. ‘The Machine’ will defend his gold for the fourth time in 2025 as he chases the UFC record of fourth successful title defense in a calendar year. He will face Petr Yan in a rematch at UFC 323.
Before the fight, ‘The Machine’ spoke with Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman. He discussed why he needs to beat Yan again:
“He’s from Russia, I’m from Georgia. Every time we have a match against the Russians, we have to win.”
Even in the past, the 34-year-old had done that mentioned the same reason to Daniel Cormieras he explains why he hates ‘No Mercy’.
“I don’t like Petr Yan… He’s Russian, right? Russia has occupied the territory of my country and that’s personal for me. Every time we fight the Russians, we always try to win. If I have to fight him, I have two choices. Win against him, or if I lose, I have to kill myself.”
About his plans for 2026, the Georgian phenomenon said:
‘I want to fight in March. I hope I get this fight in the White House.” [as well].”
Coming to Umar, and what he hates about the latter, Dvalishvili added:
“What kind of man are you when someone tweets for you? He called me a fake champion and I’m done with him. Next question, please.”
Check out Merab Dvalishvili’s comments below:
Umar Nurmagomedov thinks Petr Yan has a chance to beat Merab Dvalishvili in UFC 323 rematch
Umar Nurmagomedov recently scored a dominant decision victory over Mario Bautista. After the victory, he issued a strong warning to Merab Dvalishvili he comes for the belt.’
The first time ‘The Machine’ fought Umar, he broke his hand during the fight, which he claimed was the reason for his underperformance. Umar wants to see a number one contender fight in early 2026, before Dvalishvili’s possible rematch. The Russian fighter also weighed in on the upcoming headliner of UFC 323. During an interview with Mike Bohn, he said:
“I think so.” [Petr Yan] very good with these arms, and he always has that every fighter always has a chance. It just depends on how he will stop the takedowns. He’s really athletic, they’re both good and we’ll see what happens.”
Watch Umar Nurmagomedov’s comments below (10:01):
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