UFC President Dana White and his matchmaking team may have to step in to make a tough decision or reiterate what’s already been said about the next championship fight in the men’s bantamweight division.
Immediately following Petr Yan’s impressive win over Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC Macau, bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili complimented Yan on his performance.
Yan called Dvalishvili out following the fight, and the champion accepted. Dvalishvili even presented a homemade rework of the fight poster the two men shared when they met in March 2023.
Yan is a former champion, and he proved he is still among the division’s elite with an excellent performance against Figueiredo. Yan’s win showcased his well-rounded game. He showed striking versatility, grappling and resilience in a performance that drew raves from others, not just Dvalishvili.
Under most circumstances, it would be a simple decision to award Yan a title shot.
However, during the post-event press conference following UFC 308, White told reporters multiple times, “Umar [Nurmagomedov] is next” when asked about Dvalishvili’s first title defense.
Dvalishvili has repeatedly downplayed a title defense against Nurmagomedov. For whatever reason, Dvalishvili doesn’t appear thrilled about the prospect of defending his title against Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili’s hesitation to face Nurmagomedov has sparked speculation about the stylistic challenges Nurmagomedov might pose. Nurmagomedov might be the only 135-pounder whose wrestling compares to Dvalishvili, and he also has a layered striking attack that he showed in a recent win over Corey Sandhagen.
Dvalishvili has even gone so far as to try to sell Yan to the public as a worthy challenger in a now-deleted post.
Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov—or the person operating his social media—has criticized Dvalishvili on X for his attempt to ignore him.
It’s worth questioning who operates Nurmagomedov’s X account, as some of the messages refer to him in the third person. Some fighters believe Ali Abdelaziz, Nurmagomedov’s manager, is the one managing the account.
Abdelaziz has faced scrutiny before for allegedly managing his fighters’ social media accounts, though he has denied these claims.
However, a post from the account seemed to refute those claims.
In any case, White and the UFC will need to make a tough call. After Yan’s win, many fans called for him to rematch Sean O’Malley. Their first fight ended in a split-decision win for O’Malley, though Yan contends he won the fight.
That fight makes sense for Yan and O’Malley, with the winner getting an opportunity to regain the bantamweight title. However, there’s also a scenario where Dvalishvili defends his title against Yan, and O’Malley faces Nurmagomedov, with the winner of that fight earning a title shot in 2025.
Both scenarios have appeal. Expect an announcement about the UFC’s direction soon.
