Javier Mendez believes that Merab Dvalishvili defeated Umar Nurmagomedov in his gamemanship.
In January, Dvalishvili successfully defended the title against Nurmagomedov in the UFC 311 co-main event. Nurmagomedov was his favorite, but Dvalishvili overtook him in 25 minutes with a blend of aerobic and pressure, winning with scores of 48-47, 48-47, 49-46. Following the match, Nurmagomedov revealed that he had broken his hand in the first round, which affected his abilities against Dvalishvili, but his coach Javier Mendez says it wasn’t really what cost him.
“I told him, ‘What do you know, Umar? I, in my opinion, I felt you won three out of five rounds,” Mendes said of him. Javier & MO Podcast. “Maybe I’m biased, but I felt it in the fifth round. The reason you couldn’t win is because he showed you how to win it. He acted like a winner while you were tired. So he basically took it from you because you forgive him.
“You see the damage and this and it, so in terms of presence, he definitely got it. The actual damage he did was nothing compared to what Umar did.
Statistically, the fight was very close, with Dvalishvili landing seven more strikes during the match. However, Dvalishvili landed five more takedowns, albeit twice as much as its takedown attempt. Nevertheless, Dvalishvili has made the decision and is set to rematch Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 316 in June. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov is rumored to fight Petruyan in the film, although not official.