When Umar Nurmagomedov went into his bout against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311, everyone expected ‘Young Eagle’ to win the bout with relative ease. After all, he had the might of Team Khabib behind him, besides sharing the ‘Nurmagomedov’ name. But then the opposite happened, and Umar fell short, as found himself on the receiving end of Merab Dvalishvili breaking George St-Pierre’s UFC takedown record. Yes, ‘The Machine’ dominated ‘Young Eagle’, especially in the later rounds where he practically trolled Umar Nurmagomedov to coast to victory.

While having a conversation with his audience on his YouTube handle, Javier & Mo Show, Team Khabib and AKA head coach Javier Mendez said that Umar Nurmagomedov wouldn’t have lost the fight if he hadn’t let Merab Dvalishvili showboat. In a confession that shows some grace to the young Nurmagomedov, Mendez stated that he was appalled when he saw ‘Young Eagle’s hand after the battle, “When I come back and I see him, you know, he comes in. I go into the room, and I see his hand, and you look at his hand here, and this finger is all the way down, broken. I’m like—my eyes just got really wide—like, ‘Whoa! Oh my God! What the heck’.”

Mendez told Umar that, in his opinion, he won the first three rounds, but his cardio ultimately left him exposed.“The reason why you didn’t win is because he showboated his way to winning that. Like, he acted like the victor while you were tired, you know? And that’s why I feel he basically took it from you—because you let him.”

He further added, “But I felt you won, you know? Because when you’re looking at damage and this and that… but when it comes to presence, he definitely got that. He got that. But the actual damage that he did was nothing compared to what Umar did. Umar did more.” Did Umar Nurmagomedov do more damage to Merab Dvalishvili? Well, if we take a closer look at the fight statistics, we can see that ‘The Machine’ threw more significant strikes (111) and scored more takedowns (7) compared to ‘Young Eagle’.

To say that Umar Nurmagomedov did more damage to Merab Dvalishvili is a bit short-sighted. Merab Dvalishvili won that fight through and through, showing the world just how hard it is to get the better of him. But a top bantamweight contender thinks he knows the roadmap to beating the divisional champion. Let’s see what they had to say.

Cory Sandhagen claims he knows how to defeat Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Dvalishvili arguably has the best cardio in the sport currently, causing a massive inconvenience to many individuals, including Umar Nurmagomedov. Khabib Nurmagomedov believed he could decode ‘The Machine,’ but he was wrong. However, in a discussion with Luke Thomas, Cory Sandhagen revealed that ‘The Machine’ might have a flaw in his game plan as well: “The more that you move your feet, the more tired you’re gonna get, especially if that movement is backwards. You have to stand your ground against Merab.”

He further added, “Don’t run from him, and hit him when he comes in. Make your movement a lot smaller because it is all that footwork that really tires people out.” What Sandhagen wants to say is—don’t succumb to Dvalishvili’s pressure, stand your ground, and catch him when he comes in. But, of course, forming a game plan is much different than executing said game plan in the Octagon.

As of now, Merab Dvalishvili looks nigh unbeatable. But MMA is unpredictable, and champions can fall as fast as they rise. What do you think of Merab Dvalishvili’s dominance in MMA? Do you think he’ll be a champion for a long time? Do let us know what you think in the comments down below.