Aljamain Sterling says Merab Dvalishvili not wanting to fight Umar Nurmagomedov is out of principle.
UFC bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) was heavily chastised for calling out Petr Yan (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) after he defeated Deiveison Figueiredo this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 248. Dvalishvili already beat Yan before, winning a lopsided unanimous decision where he shot a single-fight UFC record 49 takedown attempts.
Dvalishvili insists that beating just one ranked contender in Cory Sandhagen isn’t enough for Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) to earn a title shot, and Sterling defends his argument.
“Some people actually think he’s afraid, which is actually hilarious,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “From what I understand when we talk, Merab is just standing on business, like, ‘Bro you haven’t done anything and I’m supposed to be busting my ass over here?’
“I’m from the same area as you, in relation to the area – the Caucus mountains – and I had to come here and bust my ass just to get a title shot and you’re going to get it off of one win? And I had to fight all these contenders. That’s crazy.”
Nurmagomedov was quick to remind Sterling of his initial stance on who should be next in line for a title shot.
“@funkmasterMMA When you weren’t afraid to speak the truth.”
Sterling explains that when comparing Yan and Nurmagomedov’s accolades and strength of schedule, former champion Yan’s is more impressive.
“I think that was way more dominant than Umar’s performance over Sandhagen, and Yan beat Sandhagen,” Sterling said. “I know you can’t do MMA math, but in terms of notoriety, then technically Yan should jump both of them to be No. 1 as a contender. If you’re using logic, that’s the way that it should go. But if we’re talking strictly what have you done lately, I guess Umar does have the highest credible win.”
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Aljamain Sterling: Merab Dvalishvili ‘just standing on business’ by dismissing Umar Nurmagomedov
