Merab Dvalishvili’s Coach Believes Rematch Might Be Worse for Umar Nurmagomedov

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

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Merab Dvalishvili’s coach, Ray Longo, believes the champ will fare even better in a potential rematch against Umar Nurmagomedov.

The then-unbeaten Nurmagomedov was considered the toughest challenge for Dvalishvili, who was initially reluctant to fight him in his first title defense. However, Dvalishvili eventually accepted the booking at UFC 311 this past January. While Nurmagomedov led the dance in the opening round, Dvalishvili took over as the fight progressed to earn a unanimous decision victory.


After Dvalishvili beat Sean O’Malley in a rematch at UFC 316 earlier this month, a rematch between the champ and Nurmagomedov is up for discussion again. Longo believes a rematch will play out exactly the same, if not worse, for Nurmagomedov. Longo notes that Dvalishvili earned a decision victory in his initial title win over O’Malley but finished “Suga” in the rematch. Longo also recalls “The Machine” showboating a little in his fight against Nurmagomedov. Longo claims Dvalishvili is all business now and expects him to perform even better.

Coach: Merab Dvalishvili is ‘All Business’ These Days​

“[The rematch will go] the same way the first fight went. Maybe worse, just like O’Malley,” Longo told Red Corner MMA. “The O’Malley fight, first one [Merab] didn’t finish, second one [he did]. The more comfortable Merab gets, the better he’s gonna get. He already fought Umar, he’s got the confidence now. You gotta remember, even in the Umar fight he played around a little bit. No playing around — it would have been different. He’s getting more serious with that part. You didn’t see in the O’Malley fight no playing around at all. No kissing, no looking away, he’s all business. I believe he will do that to Umar too.”

Cory Sandhagen is widely believed to be next in line for a bantamweight title shot against Dvalishvili. However, Dana White entertained the idea of a rematch against Nurmagomedov at the UFC 316< press conference.

“The rematch with Merab will be even worse for Umar, just like O’Malley”

Dvalishvili’s coach Ray Longo shared his thoughts on a possible rematch between Umar Nurmagomedov and the current bantamweight champion.

Red Corner MMA spoke to Longo in Azerbaijan, where he came to corner… pic.twitter.com/Dn6LzWC1Yb

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) June 24, 2025

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Merab Dvalishvili’s Coach Believes Rematch Might Be Worse for Umar Nurmagomedov

Merab Dvalishvili’s coach, Ray Longo, believes the champ will fare even better in a potential rematch against Umar Nurmagomedov.

www.sherdog.com

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[Arm Barbarian]

Well I mean, it's his coach, so that's not a shocker he's saying that.

I expect the rematch to be even more competitive though, as Khabib and team are pretty good game planners.

I would imagine Umar has been put through the wrestling ringer since that fight.

 

[xhaydenx]

I can see it.

Merab knows he can break Umar cardio-wise and beat him, and Umar doesn't know if he can beat Merab at all.

Not that Merab needs it, but knowing that's gotta give Merab a lot of confidence.

Umar isn't going to improve his cardio to the point where Merab won't be able to break him again either. He'll be taking another loss back to the bathtub.

Merab bless.

 

[Siver!]

I'm worried Merab is going to Kamaru Usman his career.

We're going to look back at a series of rematches that don't really put his title run itself in the spotlight.

It just seems inevitable that by the time he sort of ages out, and he's already 34, he'll have probably defended against 3 different guys tops.

That never works well for a legacy. Fortunately he's already beaten most of the good 135ers leading up to his title run.

 

[usernamee]

I'm worried Merab is going to Kamaru Usman his career.

We're going to look back at a series of rematches that don't really put his title run itself in the spotlight.

It just seems inevitable that by the time he sort of ages out, and he's already 34, he'll have probably defended against 3 different guys tops.

That never works well for a legacy. Fortunately he's already beaten most of the good 135ers leading up to his title run.

Fortunately a rematch with Umar and beating him twice has the chance of being awesome for his resume compared to a rematch with Masvidal for example. Umar could very well go on to become one of the greatest ever as he's only 29yo and clearly super fucking good already.

 

[AMAZINGUFC]

Merab Dvalishvili’s Coach Believes Rematch Might Be Worse for Umar Nurmagomedov​

Conversation from someone who is already trying to find an excuse to avoid rematch.

 

[Harlekin]

One is 29 the other 34,5 that's not how age works at 135.
Merab will be 35 or 36 till their next fight and Umar will enter his prime with better cardio.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

He’s probably correct.

 

[fortheo]

One is 29 the other 34,5 that's not how age works at 135.
Merab will be 35 or 36 till their next fight and Umar will enter his prime with better cardio.

Merab beat him while he had staph, an injured back, and a gash on his chin that barely closed on fight week. I wouldn't be so confident umar in the rematch, and I certainly wouldn't be confident in Umar, after 20 plus years of athletic training, suddenly improving his cardio at 30 years old.

 

[mangokush]

Merab exposed Umar easily

Umar's soy hands broke against Chad Merab when he tried to punch him with his limp wrists

Merab had an injured back, staph and stitches on his leg and only had less than 6 weeks to train for that fight against a Full Camp Khabib trained undefeated prime Umar at the time

Healthy Full Camp Merab easily 50-44 Umar or submits him in a rematch

 

[Hymen Crusher]

Merab will smoke him next time. You dont lose like that and come back better. Just wait merab out for a couple years

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

Umar needs at least 2 wins before a rematch. They fought, there was a decisive winner, we need variety in the title pictures FFS. We've already been plagued for years by immediate rematches when champions lose... do we seriously need to start doing it for contenders now??

 

[Arqueto]

Mehrabs cardio is insane

 

[TryggeTryggvar]

No kissing, no looking away?

Coach is killing all the fun here.

 

[AL-Tappo McSnappo]