John Wood Makes Huge Prediction

Merab Dvalishvili’s coach, John Wood, thinks things would go even worse for Umar Nurmagomedov in a potential rematch.

After handily defeating Sean O’Malley to claim the bantamweight crown last year, Dvalishvili’s first defense came against Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January. Despite going into the bout as a sizeable 3-to-1 favorite on some sportsbooks, the Dagestani came up short on all three scorecards, suffering the first loss of his career.

With Dvalishvili cruising past Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320, talks of a potential rematch between Nurmagomedov and ‘The Machine’ are popping up. But if you ask Wood, that would only end in disaster for Khabib’s cousin.

“I think he finishes Umar. I think he destroys Umar,” Wood told Submission Radio. “It’s way worse for Umar. People try to make excuses for whatever Umar’s camp had going on. That was the worst Merab that you’ve ever seen. That was the most unhealthy, sick, injured Merab that you will ever see take a short-notice fight: hand, back, rib, shins, shins, staph infection.

“Everything you could possibly go through, and he still went out there and handled it just like that. And that’s one that you don’t want to have angry Merab on your ass – and he’s not a huge fan of some of the stuff that they say, some of the stuff he does. I think that goes in a much more violent fashion, and I think there’s a finish that would probably be coming out of that fight.”

A sequel scrap between Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili likely isn’t on any MMA fan’s wishlist. Still, the bantamweight division is sorely lacking contenders despite being one of the most talent-rich weight classes in the UFC, putting a rematch well within the realm of possibility.

But if Dvalishvili gets his wish, perhaps his next test will come against former 135-pound champion Petr Yan.