Merab Dvalishvili defended his bantamweight belt for the first time despite nursing several nasty injuries.
‘The Machine’ lived up to his nickname as he used superior cardio to outpoint Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311 on Saturday night.
Merab Dvalishvili worried fans by talking about retirement during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
The 34-year-old continued to say outrageous things when he spoke with the media backstage at Dana White‘s first pay-per-view show of 2025.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
It was revealed that Umar Nurmagomedov broke his hand in the first round after UFC 311.
A picture of his swollen knuckles went viral before Dvalishvili was asked to react to the news.
The proud Georgian fighter responded by revealing the serious injury he dealt with before UFC 311.
“I broke my back during the training camp,” Dvalishvili said.
“It was [so bad] some days I couldn’t get up from the bed, and I was laid down, and I wouldn’t have a training camp, and I don’t have a cousin like Khabib Nurmagomedov to help me with training.
“Some days the UFC PI was closed. It was Christmas, New Year, and weekends. It happened a couple of times, Umar was there, and the secretary goes, ‘Sorry, we can’t let you in’.
“I’m not making this excuse. You’re a f***ing fighter and you’ve got to find a way to win.”
It’s currently unclear if Dvalishvili’s broken back has been confirmed by an X-ray, or if he’s just using that word to refer to another form of injury to his spine.
Amazingly, this isn’t the first time a famous fighter has claimed to be nursing a broken back after picking up a high-profile win.
Mike Tyson said he was dealing with the same injury as Dvalishvili during the final win of his Hall of Fame boxing career, which saw him bounce back from being stopped by Lennox Lewis by beating Clifford Etienne in February 2023.
‘Iron Mike’ scored a 49-second knockout before hopping on the mic and giving an all-time great post-fight interview, which saw him disclose a very serious injury.
“I broke my back. My back is broken,” Tyson famously said.
“[It was] spinal. I broke my back. I don’t even know how I’m standing. It’s a miracle.
“The doctor took me to the pain center, and I wasn’t supposed to fight, but what am I supposed to do? I’m going to take care of my family.”
In 2020, Tyson clarified his comments by pointing out that he dealt with chronic back pain after suffering serious injuries during a high-speed motorbike accident, which resulted in surgery in 1997.
“Well listen right, I have a bad back and since all of the work that I’ve put over the years, the spine in my back just starts shifting,” he explained.
“I have to get the operation but the doctor said, ‘Hey eventually you’re gonna have to start bending over.’
“And so, I was trying to explain my situation. I just wasn’t eloquent enough to explain it in the way I wanted it to be explained.”
BoxingMerab DvalishviliMike TysonMMAUFCUFC 311
