Merab Dvalishvili would have walked in the CFUthe head office to demand a fight with Umar Nurmagomedovwhich led to the announcement on Wednesday that the two will face each other in January.

Nurmagomedov’s impressive win over Cory Sandhagen in August made him the next likely challenger for the title, which Dvalishvili then took from Sean O’Malley. with a dominant display in September.

Since then, Nurmagomedov – a cousin of UFC great Khabib – repeatedly accused Dvalishvili of avoiding a fight with him. In November, Dvalishvili even called for a title defense against former champion Petr Yan, whom he easily beat in 2023, after Yan defeated Deiveson Figueiredo.

But Dvalishvili, eager to refute accusations that he “dodged” Nurmagomedov, demanded a fight with the undefeated contender this week, according to Dana White.

Announcing the fight on Wednesday, December 4, the UFC president said: “Merab came into the office late last night and told us he was tired of hearing Umar disrespect him.

“(He) wanted this fight to happen as soon as possible. We called Umar. He was sleeping in Dagestan and he said, “Hell, yes. Anywhere, anytime.

Dvalishvili vs Nurmagomedov will serve as the co-main event of UFC 311 on January 18with Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan 2 headlining in Los Angeles.

Georgian Dvalishvili is on an 11-fight winning streakincluding four victories over former champions. Meanwhile, Russian Nurmagomedov is 18-0 as a professional.