Umar Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili have very different demeanors heading into their bantamweight title fight at UFC 311. Dvalishvili, the champion, was a ball of rage at December’s pre-fight press conference while the challenger stayed cool and composed.
Dvalishvili has repeatedly accused Nurmagomedov of disrespecting him, a claim Nurmagomedov rejects. During an interview with “The Ariel Helwani Show” last month, Dvalishvili demanded that Nurmagomedov apologize. The champ threatened to slap Nurmagomedov post-fight on Saturday if he did not receive an apology.
Nurmagomedov maintains his innocence, standing by his only critique about Dvalishvili trying to avoid their fight. Nurmagomedov encouraged Dvalishvili to stay true to his word if such criticism was worthy of a slap.
“We’re going to see…” Nurmagomedov told CBS Sports. “You own your words before you say them. Afterwards, your words are only real. What you say, honor it. We’re going to see how we’re going to do this.
“I don’t see why I have to say sorry. For what? Nobody has seen me say [something disrespectful]. He created this because he needs some reason to hate me. He needs a reason to maybe rally the support of his fans.”
More UFC news, rumors
- Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will closely watch UFC 311’s main event. Oliveira’s last two losses are to Saturday’s headliners, Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan. Oliveira deems the fight much closer than oddsmakers do. The betting lines have the champion Makhachev as a -440 favorite. “They’re both great fighters with similar games. I think Islam has a small advantage because he’s improved his stand-up a lot. It will boil down to who wants it more and who’s well prepared so it’s 50-50,” Oliveira told CBS Sports through a Portuguese interpreter. “… All I can say is I hope they have a great fight. I hope they’re well prepared. I’ll be in the front row watching so don’t forget I’m next.”
- Jiri Prochazka senses weakness in his UFC 311 opponent Jamahal Hill. Hill has repeatedly contested what most consider a clean, decisive knockout loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 300. Referee Herb Dean called a timeout after Hill kicked Pereira in the groin. Pereira — the victim of the illegal blow — waved Dean off. The referee restarted the fight and Hill was knocked out seconds later. Hill blames Dean but Prochazka encourages Hill to admit failure. “You have to stay focused all the time during a fight,” Prochazka told CBS Sports. “For me, it speaks to arguing about his weakness. To try and tell everyone this mistake was the referee’s. No, accept that you lost the fight. I accept the last time I lost to Alex very badly. That was not a mistake of anyone’s but mine.”
- Beneil Dariush won’t rule out retiring after UFC 311. Dariush nearly retired in March 2018 after a three-fight winless stretch. Instead, he embarked on an eight-fight winning streak that rejuvenated his career. A loss to Renato Moicano on Saturday would spark Dariush’s first career losing streak. Dariush, 35, won’t decide yet but acknowledges what could happen if he loses three consecutive fights. “I’m not putting pressure on myself like this is a retirement fight. At the same time, if I don’t have it then I don’t have it. It’s that simple,” Dariush told CBS Sports. “I believe I’m going to win. I believe I’m going to go out there and, not make it easy, but look good… I’m only really going to be able to tell you after the fight because I don’t have a clear answer right now.”
- Reiner de Ridder won two weight class titles with ONE Championship but he’s not putting the same pressure on himself ahead of his second UFC fight. De Ridder fights Kevin Holland on Saturday. A second consecutive win likely positions him for a top 15 middleweight opponent. However, the allure of one day becoming UFC champion is not something de Ridder is focusing on. “I’m just here to enjoy every part of the journey. I’m not trying to look too much ahead, as I did in the past,” de Ridder told CBS Sports. “I was always stressed and always looking ahead, mostly because I was struggling [with ONE] to consistently get fights. But now, I’m just trying to soak it all in.”
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