Umar Nurmagomedov wants Merab Dvalishvili win or lose at UFC 333: ‘Now it’s personal’

Umar Nurmagomedov wants Merab Dvalishvili win or lose at UFC 333: 'Now it's personal'.

Key points

• The rivalry between Umar Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili has escalated since the pair shared the octagon at UFC 311 in January 2025.
• Nevertheless, if it ends up going the other way and "The Machine" reclaims gold, Nurmagomedov wouldn't mind getting the belt, and his revenge, all in one night.
• Nurmagomedov intends to win against Song this weekend, and he wants the rematch with Dvalishvili next.
• "First of all, of course I have to win this fight, " Nurmagomedov informed MMA Junkie.
• Nurmagomedov, 30, has been keen to avenge the only blemish on his record since the night it happened.

Meanwhile, the rivalry between Umar Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili has escalated since the pair shared the octagon at UFC 311 in January 2025.

Dvalishvili (21-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) handed Nurmagomedov (20-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) his first career loss in their bantamweight title fight almost two years ago in Los Angeles, winning a competitive unanimous decision in a bout that had some animosity coming in. Fast forward to current day, the tension between the two sides had grown stronger, and a rematch could be in the near future.

Both men have critical fights to obtain through first, though. While Dvalishvili will attempt to regain the 135-pound belt from Petr Yan (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) in their trilogy bout at UFC 333 on Oct, nurmagomedov meets Song Yadong (23-9-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC) in Saturday's UFC Fight Night 286 main event in Shanghai. 24 in Abu Dhabi (Paramount+).

Nurmagomedov intends to win against Song this weekend, and he wants the rematch with Dvalishvili next. So much so, that he doesn't even care if he loses at UFC 333, and it's a non-title format.

"First of all, of course I have to win this fight, " Nurmagomedov informed MMA Junkie. "Then any ways I will fight with Merab, if he will win or if he will lose, I think we're going to fight."

Nurmagomedov, 30, has been keen to avenge the only blemish on his record since the night it happened. Nevertheless, his desire is even stronger now after a recent altercation between Dvalishvili, 35, and one of Nurmagomedov's friends, Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov, at a recent Real American Freestyle event in Georgia.

Notably, the way Dvalishvili conducted himself in that moment was not taken lightly by Nurmagomedov and his team.

"Is it personal? I think yes, " Nurmagomedov remarked. "Already yes. Now it's personal. Now it's personal not just for me. It's personal for all of Dagestan."

According to Nurmagomedov already has, he believes Yan will put on a repeat performance of his December title win over Dvalishvili and take the rubber match at UFC 333. Nevertheless, if it ends up going the other way and "The Machine" reclaims gold, Nurmagomedov wouldn't mind getting the belt, and his revenge, all in one night. "It's going to be better (if he wins), " Nurmagomedov remarked.

For now, umar Nurmagomedov wants Merab Dvalishvili win or lose at UFC 333: Now remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.