Outside Source
Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t think Dagestani fighters are unbeatable, and he has the recent proof to back up that assertion.
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Dvalishvili is the only fighter to have beaten a Dagestani in a major title fight in recent times. After winning the UFC bantamweight title against Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 last year, Dvalishvili was initially loathe to immediately defend his title against Umar Nurmagomedov. “The Machine” claimed that the undefeated Dagestani was being gifted a title shot because of the legacy of his cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
However, Dvalishvili eventually agreed to the matchup, which took place in the co-main event at UFC 311 in California last month. While Nurmagomedov didn’t lack in skills, Dvalishvili’s legendary cardio was enough to hand the challenger his first pro loss.
Dvalishvili has subsequently refuted the popular aura of invincibility surrounding Dagestani fighters. While he admits that the region has produced great athletes, the Georgian believes they are as beatable as any other. While Khabib retired undefeated, Dvalishvili believes “Eagle” simply didn’t meet his match.
“Dagestanis are really good fighters,” Dvalishvili recently told Europop (via Championship Rounds). “They have always excelled in martial arts… But at the same time, they are ordinary people, heavenly forces do not help them. They are ordinary athletes and others can defeat them, as you saw in my case. Khabib went undefeated, but he simply did not meet a worthy opponent.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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