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Undefeated Contender Calls For Title Shot Against Merab Dvalishvili

An undefeated contender said he is ready for a title shot after Merab Dvalishvili's win against Sean O'Malley.

Zain Bando

Merab Dvalishvili walks out of the Sphere in Las Vegas as the UFC bantamweight champion.
Merab Dvalishvili walks out of the Sphere in Las Vegas as the UFC bantamweight champion. / (via Cooper Neil/Zuffa LLC)

UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov has his sights set on winning a world title.

After Merab Dvalishvili's dominant unanimous decision win against Sean O'Malley Saturday night in the main event of UFC 306 at MSG Sphere in Las Vegas, Nev., Nurmagomedov, who was in attendance, called his shot in a now-viral video on 'X.'

"I think I'm next," Nurmagomedov said. "I hope they will not avoid and run. They have to be true [champions] and don't choose opponents. See you soon, guys."

Nurmagomedov is riding a perfect 6-0 Octagon mark, most recently defeating Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi in last month to put him in line for a potential title shot.

Dvalishvili, fresh off of winning the belt, is not a fan of this idea. At the UFC 306 post-fight presser, he clarified his intentions regarding who he wants his first defense to come against.

UFC 306 Results & Highlights – Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Dvalishvili Calls Out Umar Nurmagomedov

"He's okay," Dvalishvili said when asked about Nurmagomedov. "I'm telling you guys – from [the] top-15, he only [won] one fight, and that was Cory Sandhagen, so. We all [saw] what Aljamain Sterling did against Cory Sandhagen – make him sleep, you know. I mean, I respect Cory Sandhagen."

Dvalishvili said for now he would like to see Nurmagomedov fight Petr Yan in a No.1 contender fight while he fights former flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, next.

Dvalishvili became the second Georgian UFC champion in promotional history, joining Ilia Topuria who knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in February to win the featherweight belt.

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It remains to be seen where Dvalishvili goes from here, as he extended his winning streak to 11 and snapped a four-year unbeaten run for O'Malley. O'Malley is one of two former champions to successfully come off Dana White's Contender Series, along with ex-light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill.

For now, the Dvalishvili era is officially underway.

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Zain Bando

ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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