Sterling Challenged the Rush Behind Merab’s First Title
Aljamain Sterling challenged the preparation time behind Merab Dvalishvili’s first bantamweight title defense in December 2024. His teammate was booked to face Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 on January 18, 2025, at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
Six weeks of notice raised the concern
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Sterling said the matchup had been arranged with approximately six to six-and-a-half weeks’ notice. He argued that a champion should have greater influence over the timing of a title defense.
The concern came from personal experience. Sterling had faced Sean O’Malley in August 2023 after defending against Henry Cejudo that May, a turnaround he regarded as demanding.
The booking notice and layoff were different timelines
Dvalishvili had won the championship from O’Malley in September 2024. His January return therefore came 126 days after that victory, compared with Sterling’s 105 days between the Cejudo and O’Malley fights.
Sterling’s six-week figure referred to notice for the newly arranged matchup. Dvalishvili had hoped for a longer break that included the holidays, according to the contemporaneous account of Sterling’s comments.
Dvalishvili delivered when the defense arrived
The champion nevertheless completed the assignment. He defeated Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision, with official scores of 48–47, 48–47 and 49–46.
Dvalishvili’s pace and conditioning became decisive as the fight progressed. The successful defense handed Nurmagomedov his first professional defeat and gave the Georgian champion a winning start to his reign despite the preparation concerns raised by Sterling.
Sources
- Sports Illustrated: Sterling’s interview and the two preparation timelines
- UFC: date, venue and championship scorecards
- UFC: Dvalishvili’s pace and successful first defense
