Merab Dvalishvili is on a generational run in the UFC, and it’s getting due credit, even from his biggest rivals. It was his latest conquest, Sean O’Malley, who was the first to praise him after the UFC 316 loss – ‘Suga’ declared the Georgian the undisputed GOAT at bantamweight. Joining that bandwagon is Dvalishvili’s opponent from earlier this year, Umar Nurmagomedov. Yes, the Dagestani still maintains he did enough to beat ‘The Machine’ at UFC 311. But he can acknowledge greatness when he sees it, and it could not be more evident than in this latest prediction for Dvalishvili.

Taking to Instagram right after his defeat at UFC 311, Umar had shared a post where he claimed, “And I don’t think I’ve lost this battle If even the whole world will convince me otherwise.” But he wasn’t going to make any excuses. He shared details of his broken hand that arguably affected his performance at UFC 311. But he never really asserted that he lost because of it. He was outmatched because of Dvalishvili’s toughness and massive gas tank. On the other hand, Dvalishvili claimed, “If my title fight was three rounds, I guess I was gonna lose because they gave him the first two rounds, to Umar.” And that became the highlight when Nurmagomedov weighed in on the champion retaining his position by the end of the year.

Umar Nurmagomedov’s prediction for Merab Dvalishvili’s 2025 title run comes true

During his appearance on Adam Zubayraev’s talk show, Nurmagomedov asserted that ‘The Machine’ would remain the champion at the end of 2025. He said, “If there’s no crazy knockout or something, like, unless O’Malley lands a huge shot and knocks Merab out…” Yep, it seemed like the interview was recorded prior to UFC 316, where Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley again. It was a submission in the third round, with a move that has now been dubbed the ‘Machine Choke’. 

‘Young Eagle’ continued, “But I’ve hit Merab clean myself. He didn’t even flinch. Tough guy. I feel like he’s really hard to knock out. So, yeah. I think Merab might be the one. If he doesn’t retire before the rematch, he might become champion. Because he’s got cardio for days, and that kind of raw power. He’s just got brute strength. He wrestles with pure pressure. He doesn’t even need to hold you. It’s not like he’s got advanced grappling skills or anything. No control, no submissions. He can’t even hold people down properly. He just overwhelms them.”

Well, Khabib’s cousin was right on a few counts – Dvalishvili was not getting knocked out, and he could wrestle for days. And he proved everyone, including Umar, wrong when he secured a finish over O’Malley before the championship rounds even began. This favors Umar Nurmagomedov who will undoubtedly want to rematch Dvalishvili for the title.

The budding Dagestani bantamweight star faced quite a bit of backlash because of the loss in January 2025. But the one thing that possibly alerted the Georgian champion was Nurmagomedov’s opinion regarding the claims that Dvalishvili dominated him. 

Umar Nurmagomedov asserts his stance on Merab Dvalishvili’s dominance at UFC 311

As the conversation between Nurmagomedov and Zubayraev continued, the #2 bantamweight contender said, “I want that rematch. I want to prove that my broken hand was a factor, that it could’ve ended differently, that the outcome might have been completely different. But, even if we don’t meet again, if he retires or something, inshallah, I still plan to become UFC champion.” 

Nurmagomedov claimed that even if the rematch never happens, it wouldn’t affect him. Why? It was because he wasn’t emotionally attached to the rematch. And as far as the dominance was concerned, he believed that Belal Muhammad dominated Leon Edwards. ‘The Machine’, however, didn’t dominate the bout as per ‘Young Eagle’. He said, “It’s not like he dominated me in that fight. He had takedowns, but he couldn’t really hold me down… When Belal Muhammad beat Leon Edwards, that was domination. He beat him up, he really mauled him. That fight, you could call domination. But, not my fight. Mine wasn’t like that at all.”

For now, ‘The Machine’ is busy celebrating his big win at UFC 316. While his next opponent is yet to be determined, the fighting community has put him against Cory Sandhagen. On top of that, Nurmagomedov still remains a viable option for a rematch against Dvalishvili. And who knows, maybe ‘Young Eagle’ will be the one to finally end the Georgian star’s reign in the bantamweight division, if he can hold on to the belt until Umar comes around for a rematch.