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UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is furious ahead of his first title defense against Omar Nurmagomedov.

Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) meets Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) at UFC 311 (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) co-main event on January 18 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Nurmagomedov has antagonized Dvalishvili in recent months, accuses him of being afraid. The pair continued to trade barbs during the UFC 311 pre-fight press conference last week, and “The Machine” has had enough.

He demands an apology from Nurmagomedov.

“I am a man first,” Dvalishvili continued “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “If you get in my face and disrespect me, you’ll get a slap. Don’t try that, because I’m a man, and I’ll never forgive you, even if I have to go to jail. I don’t care, man. I have so much to lose. I don’t care (about) this belt. I don’t care (about) this money. I don’t care (about) this legacy.

“I’m a man, I live in a respectful way, and that’s all I believe. I don’t care. Especially now that I’m an American citizen, I can fight, beat up these motherfuckers, and have no problem footing the bill, paying a fine, or going to jail. I don’t care because don’t respect me.”

Dvalishvili: Nurmagomedov may take a hit after the fight

Dvalishvili was involved in an argument with fans while cornering teammate Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310. While Dvalishvili was taking on Sterling as he walked to the back, he was grabbed in the arm by a fan, who reportedly started insulting him. That prompted his teammate, Dennis Buzukja, to throw punches at the fan while Dvalishvili was restrained by security.

Dvalishvili accused Nurmagomedov’s team of provoking the incident and is even willing to escalate things after the fight, promising not to hold back until he gets his respect.

“He might get hit after the fight,” Dvalishvili said. “The fight in the octagon is not a real fight; it’s a sport. If Umar doesn’t apologize to me, it will happen. Even if I have to go to Dagestan, I will go. I love Dagestan. I have so many friends in Dagestan and I respect the people of Dagestan. They are good people.

“But Umar made a big mistake with me, and Umar must pay for it. But my support and my love for the Dagestan people (is there) and I still respect Khabib’s team, Islam and everyone else. But I only have problems with Umar. I don’t want to solve this problem before the fight, but after the fight I want to fight him.

For more information about the card, visit MMA Junkie’s events hub UFC311.