During a recent lie detector test, Merab Dvalishvili revealed whether there is a fighter he absolutely despises and doesn’t want to see on the UFC roster.

The one fighter “The Machine” has always had a strained relationship with is Umar Nurmagomedov. When the Georgian was the bantamweight champion, he defended his title against Umar at UFC 311 and won by unanimous decision. The Russian, on the other hand, said after the fight that since he broke his hand in the early minutes, he could not implement his game plan and get the results he wanted.

Meanwhile, “The Machine,” after taking away Nurmagomedov’s undefeated record, has refused to run it back with him. As per Dvalishvili, Umar did not deserve a title shot in the first place and only got one due to the Nurmagomedov surname and his ties with the legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.

During the aforementioned lie detector test, when Dvalishvili was asked if there is a fighter he genuinely can’t stand, the 35-year-old said:

Dvalishvili is going to run it back with current and two-time bantamweight champion Petr Yan soon. “No Mercy” dethroned The Machine at UFC 323. However, since Dvalishvili was the most active champ in 2025, the UFC promised him an immediate title rematch.

Umar Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, is going to lock horns with Song Yadong next month.

Most recently at RAF Georgia, Merab Dvalishvili slapped one of Umar Nurmagomedov’s friends. As per reports, Umar’s friend wanted to confront Dvalishvili after the latter trashed Umar during the presser.

However, during the exchange, things got heated when the Russian fighter’s friend asked Dvalishvili why he hates Umar, after which “The Machine” slapped him.