Merab Dvalishvili didn’t lie when he said he was compromised going into his successful UFC 311 bantamweight title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) sustained multiple gashes to his right leg after colliding with a set of stairs ahead of this past Saturday’s unanimous decision victory over Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC). The wounds, which he said didn’t close until right before fight week, were still evident when he stepped into the octagon at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
According to Dvalishvili during an interview Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” he feared the California State Athletic Commission would pull him from competition. To prevent that, he revealed he hid the damage during a physical check.
“California has a very strict commission,” Dvalishvili said. “The commission guy asked me to show him my shin, so I lifted my left leg pant to show him my shin. He kept talking and then asked to show my other leg, so I showed him my left leg again and then he never knew about the cut.”
This is absolutely crazy 😅
Merab talks getting cleared by CSAC with the cut on his leg ahead of UFC 311.
“I was worried the commission was not going to let me fight… California has a very strict commission… The commision guy asked me to show me him my shin, so I lifted my… pic.twitter.com/MqNG2bIn3o
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 20, 2025
Dvalishvili said 27 stitches were required on his leg, and he’s now revealed video and images on social media of when it originally happened. Swipe on the Instagram carousel post below, but be warned, it’s not for the faint of heart.
Despite the adversity, Dvalishvili went on to hand Nurmagomedov his first career loss in the Fight of the Night at UFC 311. He’s now on a 12-fight winning streak inside the octagon, and is looking poised to becoming a dominant champion at 135 pounds.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
