Warning: This article contains media with a disturbing and bloody injury to a person’s leg. Scroll down at your own risk.
Merab Dvalishvili wasn’t lying.
The UFC bantamweight champion went to great lengths to hide injuries that could’ve derailed his UFC 311 title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov. Speaking Monday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Dvalishvili explained the clever ruse he used on the California State Athletic Commission to conceal the damage to his right leg he suffered in late 2024 after bashing his shin on some stairs while training.
Dvalishvili said the injuries took 27 stitches to heal and still hurt him to the touch to this day.
And immediately following his conversation with Uncrowned, Dvalishvili posted the receipts to prove it.
In a series of gruesome videos and photos on Instagram, Dvalishvili documented the extensive damage to his right leg, at least one of which appears to show Dvalishvili’s tendon or bone fully exposed underneath the skin. Swipe on the post below to see, although be warned: It’s not for the squeamish.
Fearing they wouldn’t clear him medically to fight, Dvalishvili told Uncrowned that he tricked commission officials into inspecting his healthy left leg twice in the lead-up to his UFC 311 title defense.
“California has a very strict commission, and they check everything on my body,” Dvalishvili said. “Thursday, I have pants on, and the commission guy asked me to show him my leg, to show to the shin, and I lift my left leg pants, and show him [my uninjured] shin.
“He kept talking, and then one second [he] asked me to show him the other leg. I show, again, left leg. And then he [was] done and never knew about the cut.”
Dvalishvili, 34, is glad he did. The reigning UFC bantamweight champion scored a significant upset this past Saturday at UFC 311, outworking and outlasting Umar Nurmagomedov to earn the first defense of his title despite his compromised status. Dvalishvili, who also said he suffered a back injury in camp, is currently riding the longest win streak in UFC bantamweight history (12).
Nicknamed “The Machine” for his seemingly endless cardio, Dvalishvili told Uncrowned that he hopes to return as soon as March and wants to get at least two more title defenses under his belt in 2025.
