Wrestle World - Merab Dvalishvili reacts to ex-teammate helping Umar Nurmagomedov for UFC 311

Merab Dvalishvili’s former teammate is helping Umar Nurmagomedov prep for UFC 311.

Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) defends his bantamweight title against Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the Jan. 18 co-main event from Inglewood, Calif. (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).

A post on social media from Georgian reporter Giorgi Kokiashvili brought light to the situation, where he claimed that Magdi Amachov is now training with Nurmagomedov after Dvalishvili helped him settle in the United States and gave him a place to stay.

This pic broke my heart a little bit.

Magdi Amachov is helping Umar Nurmagomedov to prepare for Merab Dvalishvili.

Merab helped Magdi to live like a human being in the US. He didn’t had a home and Merab gave him a room for free in his own house and helped a lot.

It’s just sad pic.twitter.com/gDjnNYW5YN

— Giorgi Kokiashvili 🇬🇪 (@iHeartGeorgius1) January 6, 2025

Dvalishvili was asked about his former training partner, and was very understanding towards the situation.

“I love him and I did help him but I didn’t do it because I own him you know? He’s a big man and he can do whatever he wants,” Dvalishvili told The Schmo. “He’s from Dagestan, and I know he loves Islam Makhachev, I know he loves Khabib Nurmagomedov, of course Umar Nurmagomedov.

“They call each other Muslim brothers, and I’m not surprised, of course. That’s his country, that’s his friends. I mean, I will not do that, but I will also not judge him. I love him, and I understand this, and I’m not mad at him. That’s OK.”