Merab Dvalishvili Says Aljamain Sterling Questioned His UFC 311 Turnaround

Merab Dvalishvili says UFC 311 fight vs. Umar Nurmagomedov shocked both Aljamain Sterling & Chris Weidman.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Merab Dvalishvili's return at UFC 311 caught a lot of people off guard, including his team.

‘Sounds Very Familiar,’ Aljamain Sterling on Merab Dvalishvili’s UFC 311 Return

Outside of Alex Pereira, UFC champions this year have taken 7-9 months between their fights, but that isn't the case for the newly-crowned Dvalishvili. Having won the bantamweight title from Sean O'Malley in September, Dvalishvili is back after just four months vs. Umar Nurmagomedov on Jan. 18.

Dvalishvili had wanted to fight either Petr Yan in March or Sean O'Malley in April, but alas, Nurmagomedov at the start of the year will have to do for the champion.

Sterling Told Dvalishvili: "Why You Take This, This Early?"

Dvalishvili's teammate, former champ Aljamain Sterling, went through a similar situation last year, defending his title against Henry Cejudo and turning around to fight Sean O'Malley three months later, losing that time under not-so-optimal circumstances.

"Aljo was a little bit shocked, like, why you take this, this early?" Dvalishvili told ESPN MMA. You know, 'You should take a good prep, training [camp]...' I don't even tell him before because he was [going through] a fight week and that happened like this.

UFC Champion Merab Dvalishvil
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

"I don't even tell nobody because that's how... Aljo make his decision, his own, I make my decision. We never talk like this. We are friends, we always support each other, that's how we are."

Sterling's turnaround at UFC 292 is just three weeks longer than Dvalishvili's turnaround from UFC 306 to UFC 311 next month.

Former UFC Champion Aljamain Sterlin
Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Why Dvalishvili Wants To Fight Nurmagomedov

Another former champion on his team, Chris Weidman, was taken aback by the news that Dvalishvili would be fighting someone like Nurmagomedov so soon rather than taking a few more months off like other champions.

But, Dvalishvili has his own reasons for wanting to fight Nurmagomedov, willing to roll the dice.

"Even Chris, he was a little bit surprised. I take this little bit kind of short notice and without long training camp. When you're a champion, you have to be more smart. It's one thing to come champion, but second, you have to defend this and without risk and stuff like this...

"But hey, I like to take this challenge. I wanna give people what they want and I wanna give UFC what UFC wants, and I'm tired of listening to Umar's disrespect."

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Christopher De Santiago
CHRISTOPHER DE SANTIAGO

Christopher De Santiago is a 22 year-old journalist from Gainesville, Texas with years of experience covering MMA.