Merab Dvalishvili produced a remarkable performance in the co-main event of UFC 311 to remain the bantamweight champion. Heading into his first title defense, there were some questions surrounding his decision to take this fight against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov for multiple reasons.
Not only did the champion appear to be emotional after admitting to taking the fight on six weeks notice because he felt disrespected by his challenger, there was talk ahead of Saturday night about both men coming in at less than 100%. This only makes Dvalishvili's latest win even more impressive after he detailed some of the struggles he was battling to even make it to the Octagon, let alone the incredible tenacity that he showed inside the Octagon.
A leg injury in particular seriously threated the fight which considering what happened with Arman Tsarukyan having to withdraw from his rematch with Islam Makhachev due to a back injury, would have been a disaster for the UFC. The Georgian was at serious risk of being pulled from the fight but somehow, it healed enough for him to get the all clear and "The Machine" was never going to let some cuts and bruises stop him from doing what he does best, no matter how bad they were, especially after Nurmagomedov mentioned the champion pulling out to avoid fighting him.
Dvalishvili did detail these injuries in his post-fight press conference having been cut off by Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview but videos that he has since posted on social media show the true extent of the damage that was done to his leg. The following videos are certainly not for the squeamish but to an iron-willed champion like Dvalishvili, they are but a flesh wound.
Whilst Dvalishvili seems relatively unfazed by the injury in the video where he gives his initial reaction, he is certainly in the minority in that regard.
"It looks like he fought after a shark attack."
"Sheesh. Merab truly is a machine."
"Someone help the shark"