VIDEO | Merab Dvalishvili hilariously jabs at former rival Umar Nurmagomedov just days before UFC 323

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili kicked off UFC 323 fight week by taking a shot at his former rival, Umar Nurmagomedov.

Merab Dvalishvili has quickly become one of the top fan favorites in the UFC, due to his relentless style inside the cage and colorful personality outside of it. The UFC bantamweight champion is days away from making his fourth title defense of the year against former titleholder Petr Yan at UFC 323.

Dvalishvili is known to take subtle jabs at his opponents ahead of fights. But despite a checkered past with Yan ahead of their first fight in 2023, things have tempered down between Dvalishvili and Yan ahead of UFC 323.

The same can’t be said for Dvalishvili’s UFC 311 rival, Umar Nurmagomedov. Tensions remain high between the two sides ahead of a potential rematch following UFC 323.

Ahead of UFC 311, Dvalishvili taunted an infamous photo with Team Khabib fighters in a hot tub, featuring UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. Just days before UFC 323, Dvalishvili hilariously revisited the trolling.

Merab Dvalishvili taunts Umar Nurmagomedov as he revisits ‘jacuzzi’ troll

In a recent Instagram post, Dvalishvili showed a clip of himself with several friends in a jacuzzi and sent a brutal message to his former rival Nurmagomedov.

FFS Merab 🤣🛁

Umar always catching strays 😭

🎥 Merab Dvalishvili pic.twitter.com/3BEbxmkXpX

— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) December 4, 2025

Nurmagomedov earned a potential rematch against Dvalishvili by defeating Mario Bautista at UFC 321 earlier this year. He lost to Dvalishvili by unanimous decision at UFC 311, the first loss of his professional career.

Dvalishvili will look to wrap up his impressive 2025 with another successful bantamweight title defense after recent wins over Sean O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen. UFC CEO Dana White has repeatedly expressed interest in booking a rematch between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov in the future.

If the rematch comes to fruition, expect another entertaining buildup between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov.