Nurmagomedov?! Merab Prefers ‘Sandhagen Sandwich’

Merab Dvalishvili finds himself in a unique spot within Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) Bantamweight ranks.

Fresh off a dominant unanimous decision victory over the former divisional champion, Petr Yan, Dvalishvili finds himself comfortably positioned as the No. 1-ranked contender at 135 pounds, riding a nine-fight winning streak. Dvalishvili can’t be argued as anything other than the rightful next title challenger. However, he’s made it abundantly clear that he’ll never face his best friend and teammate, the division’s champion, Aljamain Sterling.

Sterling will defend his crown on May 6, 2013, at UFC 288 opposite the returning Henry Cejudo. UFC has now attempted to give surging No. 11-ranked contender, Umar Nurmagomedov, the opportunity of a lifetime, attempting to match him against Dvalishvili for the weekend after the title bout, May 13, 2023, according to TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter.

“Per a Dominance MMA representative, the UFC offered Umar Nurmagomedov a May 13 main event bout against Merab Dvalishvili, who declined due to injury,” Bronseter’s tweet read. “They added that the UFC are now looking to book the fight sometime in July.

“Per Merab’s manager, Oren Hodak of @ko_reps: ‘Merab just fought and he fought injured. Nothing to talk about until the May 6 (Bantamweight) title fight happens anyhow.’

“Hodak added: ‘Merab is interested in tasting that [Cory] Sandhagen sandwich that was on the menu and comes at a much more high profile extra value meal compared to a guy not even in the top 10’ (He asked me to quote him on that)”

The undefeated Nurmagomedov (16-0) has widely been considered the future of Bantamweight since arriving in UFC in Jan. 2021, winning four straight. Nurmagomedov’s last victory came in Jan. 2023, scoring a sensational first-round knockout of Raoni Barcelos (watch highlights). The Russian contender on the rise has since tried to get big-name fights with anyone willing to take him on.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned Sandhagen solidified his spot amongst the division’s best, cruising to a split decision win (watch highlights) over Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC San Antonio this past weekend (March 25, 2023).