Merab Dvalishvili does not want to fight Umar Nurmagomedov next. At all. After all, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion feels that the Dagestani was given an easy road to the top by the UFC because he is Khabib’s cousin. Having to grind his way to a title shot for over seven years, ‘The Machine’ takes it as a personal insult that Umar has reached the top so soon. Instead, the champ has called out Petr Yan to be his first title defense next year.

But Sean O’Malley, who is looking to rematch the Georgian champ after losing the title to him at UFC 306, feels that Dvalishvili is actually afraid to fight Umar, and is using every excuse to try and avoid him. However, former dual champ and UFC analyst Daniel Cormier totally disagrees with ‘Suga’s take.

“When asked about Merab versus Umar, Sean O’Malley said… ‘but Merab is absolutely f***ing himself terrified of Umar, he doesn’t want to fight Umar… Look Sean O’Malley is correct in the fact that Merab seems to be saying he wants to fight everyone but Umar. but Sean O’Malley is wrong in the idea that Merab’s afraid of Umar Nurmagomedov,” ‘DC’ said on his official YouTube channel.

In fact, Cormier feels that Dvalishvili would be up to fight anybody, especially Umar. After all, the champ easily dispatched O’Malley in their UFC 306 clash, despite ‘Suga’s stick-and-move fighting style built around his sublime striking skills.

“Merab’s not afraid of anybody. He’s not. I mean with the way that this guy trains, with the way that this guy lives, the way that he fights, his style will present issues for anyone. If there was a style that would really give him trouble, it would have been O’Malley’s style… Clearly, it didn’t as Merab swept the fight on most scorecards. It was an amazing performance,” DC added. But what did Dvalishvili actually say that made O’Malley accuse him of fearing Umar?

Why Petr Yan is likely to be Merab Dvalishvili’s next opponent?

The man Merab Dvalishvili wanted to fight immediately after winning the title was top-ranked bantamweight and former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo. But the latter fought and lost to former champ Petr Yan earlier this month at UFC Macau and the Siberian dynamo has taken his place in the title picture. This, of course, is precisely why Dvalishvili recently called out Yan, challenging him to a fight in March next year.

“LFG @petr_yan – March 8th #UFC313 T Mobile, Las Vegas,” he tweeted. Umar, for his part, did not complain much, simply tweeting “No one is surprised” in reply, underscoring the alleged “ducking” rumors that have surrounded the Georgian champion. But it does raise an important question- who will fight Dvalishvili next? And the short answer is probably not Umar.

UFC champions get a say in who their opponent is going to be. And if ‘The Machine’ remains adamant in not wanting to fight Umar, the UFC would probably agree. The promotion could just as well force Dvalishvili to face the Dagestani next, but that is very unlikely. In that case, only one name remains- Petr Yan.

Maybe, just maybe Sean O’Malley may have a chance too, since the champ has also expressed interest in rematching him and is already on a pretty healthy recovery course following surgery. But if one had to bet money, Yan would be the safest pick. What do you think about Daniel Cormier’s take on the ‘Dvalishvili is afraid to fight Umar’ narrative?