Ray Longo: Rematch with Merab Dvalishvili 'maybe worse' for Umar Nurmagomedov
Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) handed Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) his first-career loss when he defeated him by unanimous decision at UFC 311 in January. However, Dvalishvili lost the first two rounds on two of the three judges' scorecards before rallying to win the fight.
Two of Dvalishvili's three title wins came over Sean O'Malley. He dethroned O'Malley to become bantamweight champion in a decision win at UFC 306, but was able to submit him in their rematch at UFC 316. If Nurmagomedov ends up running things back with Dvalishvili, Longo thinks that'll spell bad news for the Dagestani fighter.
"The same way the first fight went," Longo told Red Corner MMA on how he sees Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov 2 going. "Maybe worse, just like O'Malley. The O'Malley, first one he didn't finish. The second one – the more comfortable Merab gets, the better he's going to get. He already fought Umar, he's got the confidence now.
"You got to remember, even in the Umar fight, he played around a little bit. No playing around would have been a different story. So, he's getting more serious with the fighting, with that part. You didn't see it in the O'Malley fight, no playing around at all. No kissing, no looking away. He was all business so, he's going to do that – I believe he'll do that to Umar, too."
Nurmagomedov hasn't competed since losing to Dvalishvili due to surgery for a broken hand suffered in the fight. Cory Sandhagen is currently the frontrunner for Dvalishvili's next title defense.
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