The duo of Ilia Topuria and Merab Dvalishvili seems to be on a mission to burst the Dagestani bubble. After Khabib Nurmagomedov’s meteoric rise, there has been a spurt of fighters from Dagestan who have looked dominant on the UFC front. Naturally, fans have hyped up the athletes significantly and given them an ‘unbeatable’ status. And that is the exact misconception that Dvalishvili wants them to come out of.
The UFC bantamweight champion opined that the Dagestani fighters are pretty much normal people. Of course, they are very well-rounded and skilled, but that does not mean they cannot be beaten. Dvalishvili even went on to take a subtle dig at Khabib by claiming he lacks a worthy opponent.
“Dagestanis are really good fighters. They have always excelled in martial arts… But at the same time, they are ordinary people, heavenly forces do not help them. They are ordinary athletes and others can defeat them, as you saw in my case. Khabib went undefeated, but he simply did not meet a worthy opponent,” said Dvalishvili via ‘Europop.’
Merab Dvalishvili on Dagestani fighters:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 15, 2025
"Dagestanis are really good fighters. They have always excelled in martial arts… But at the same time, they are ordinary people, heavenly forces do not help them.
They are ordinary athletes and others can defeat them, as you saw in my… pic.twitter.com/5SVmFFwRm8
Surely, he has proved himself quite worthy. When he faced off for the bantamweight title against Umar Nurmagomedov, very few gave the Georgian fighter a chance. However, as the match progressed, Dvalishvili proved his worth and defended his title successfully. Meanwhile, not only Dvalishvili but Ilia Topuria, too recently, had some words to spare for the Dagestani athletes.
Ilia Topuria Details Why Dagestani Fighters Lose
Merab Dvalisvili and Ilia Topuria share a close bond. And both the UFC champions are currently going off on the Dagestanis. In a recent interaction on the ‘Full Send Podcast,’ Topuria dived into the possible reason why the Dagestani fighters have lost their bouts recently.
“They try to beat you in the earlier rounds to feel that they can dominate you… but when they realize that it’s not like that, most of the time, they lose…,” said Topuria.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral MMA stories via Google! Follow Us
Ilia Topuria on Dagestani fighters:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 13, 2025
“They try to beat you in the earlier rounds to feel that they can dominate you… but when they realize that it’s not like that, most of the time they lose…
All the competitive fights, they lose.”
🎥 @fullsendpodcastpic.twitter.com/f4T48vIp7V
Surely, while Dvalishvili has already defeated Umar, Topuria is looking to do the same by taking on Islam Makhachev. Will the Dagestani reign in the UFC truly come to an end? Only the future can answer this question.
Also Read: UFC Commentator Urges Ilia Topuria To Follow Conor McGregor’s Path With Move To Lightweight
