“With Merab I can fight on any floor – wherever he wants,” the Russian said in an interview with the channel “Ushataika”. “I don’t know why my coach, Javier Mendes, sees him as a big threat – I don’t see him as a threat at all. I’m not going to let him wrestle. In the standup, he’s not to say he’s technically equipped – he hits randomly, whatever he gets, and after that he makes a pass.”
“He’s just someone who has physical coordination, he’s well prepared, he’s got stamina at a good level and he’s pressing forward. So far it’s working for him and he’s winning, but I don’t see him as a threat to me.”
Umar Nurmagomedov is scheduled to fight Bekzat Almakhan, the organization’s debutant, this weekend, while Merab Dvalishvili’s opponent will be determined in a title fight between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera, which will headline UFC 299 in Miami on March 9.