Umar Nurmagomedov thinks Merab Dvalishvili is avoiding him: “It’s looking very bad”

Umar Nurmagomedov has accused Merab Dvalishvili of ducking him.

Dvalishvili is the UFC bantamweight champion. He captured the gold by defeating Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision at UFC 306 inside the Sphere in Las Vegas.

After winning the 135-pound gold, Dvalishvili said he’d rather fight Deiveson Figueiredo over Nurmagomedov. After some push back from fans, Dvalishvili said he has no problem putting his gold at stake against Nurmagomedov.

Despite this, the number two-ranked UFC bantamweight says the champion is avoiding him.

RELATED: MERAB DVALISHVILI TAKES AIM AT PRIOR OPPONENTS PETR YAN, HENRY CEJUDO AND SEAN O’MALLEY, VOWS TO “SMASH” UMAR NURMAGOMEDOV

Umar Nurmagomedov Hurls Ducking Accusations at Merab Dvalishvili

Kevin Iole got a chance to speak to Umar Nurmagomedov recently. Nurmagomedov slammed Merab Dvalishvili for not wanting to fight him from the start (via Bloody Elbow).

“They’re both not very good; O’Malley’s a bum in MMA, like he doesn’t have any grappling or wrestling, and he didn’t even try to fight him, he’s just waiting and running [away] – he fights like a bum… You can’t beat him [Dvalishvili] when you’re running.

“Now, Merab is trying to avoid [saying] my name, trying to tell me that I don’t deserve [title shot], if the UFC asked him to fight me or someone else, I think [he picks] someone else 100 times [out of 100].”

Nurmagomedov also claimed Dvalishvili only wants to fight in March because he knows that’s during Ramadan.

“He’s playing games, they know that I will not fight in Ramadan and they’re telling us how they’re going to fight in March [when] March is all Ramadan… It’s looking very bad, it’s looking like he’s trying to avoid [me], like he is scared.

The MMA community will be sure to keep an eye on how the bantamweight title picture plays out. The UFC has yet to confirm the next title fight at 135 pounds.