Aljamain Sterling slams Umar Nurmagomedov for questioning Merab Dvalishvili’s UFC return timeline: “Earn it!”

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling defended Merab Dvalishvili against Umar Nurmagomedov’s ducking allegations.

Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley for the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 306 last month. The win handed him a world championship after a long, windy road to the top of the division.

After defeating O’Malley, Dvalishvili was immediately linked with a potential fight with Nurmagomedov for his first title defense. As Dvalishvili revealed on Monday on The Ariel Helwani Show, the UFC allegedly wanted to book him vs. Nurmagomedov for UFC 310 in December, but Dvalishvili declined the rapid turnaround.

Dvalishvili wants to return in February for his first title defense. In the meantime, Nurmagomedov is reportedly close to getting booked against another opponent in December.

Nurmagomedov, who defeated Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi earlier this year, is the presumed next man up in the bantamweight division’s title picture. After Sterling defended Dvalishvili’s decision to turn down a December booking, Nurmagomedov believes there’s more to the story than the time in between fights.

Aljamain Sterling, Umar Nurmagomedov squabble over Merab Dvalishvili’s return

In a recent tweet, Nurmagomedov responded to Sterling and Dvalishvili’s stance regarding a quick turnaround.

cheap excuse https://t.co/OJha8itKCu

— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv) October 21, 2024

“Cheap excuse,” Nurmagomedov tweeted.

It didn’t take long for Sterling to issue a fiery reply.

Brother, this is a lazy rebuttal. Everything I said was accurate. If you were champ you would NEVER turn around for quick fights, and on your opponents desired timeline. You can’t use these false claims. Merab has competed against so many top guys and former champions and won.… https://t.co/lfd998bDPi

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) October 21, 2024

“Brother, this is a lazy rebuttal,” Sterling replied. “Everything I said was accurate. If you were champ you would NEVER turn around for quick fights, and on your opponents desired timeline. You can’t use these false claims. Merab has competed against so many top guys and former champions and won. Earn it like the rest of us.”

Nurmagomedov’s win over Sandhagen was his first over a Top 15 UFC opponent. Before defeating Sandhagen, Nurmagomedov defeated the likes of Bekzat Almakhan, Raoni Barcelos, and Nate Maness.

Sterling lost the bantamweight championship to O’Malley at UFC 292 last year. Since then, he’s made the full-time move up to featherweight, earning a recent win over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300.

After some early apprehension on rewarding Nurmagomedov with a title shot, Dvalishvili has tamed his stance in recent weeks. If the fight happens next for both bantamweights, it likely won’t happen until February at the earliest.