Merab Dvalishvili Channels Mike Tyson With Outrageous ‘Broken Back’ Claim After UFC 311 Win

On By Littum

Merab Dvalishvili defended his bantamweight belt for the first time despite suffering several nasty injuries.

‘The Machine’ lived up to his nickname as he used superior cardio to outlast Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311 on Saturday night.

Merab Dvalishvili worried fans by talking about retirement during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

The 34-year-old continued to say outrageous things as he spoke to the media backstage at Dana White’s first pay-per-view show in 2025.

(L-R) Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia beats Umar Nurmagomedov of Russia in the UFC bantamweight title fight during the UFC 311 event at Intui...
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Merab Dvalishvili reveals serious injuries after UFC 311

It was revealed that Umar Nurmagomedov broke his hand in the first round after UFC 311.

A photo of his swollen knuckles went viral before Dvalishvili was asked to react to the news.

The proud Georgian fighter responded by revealing the serious injury he was dealing with before UFC 311.

“I broke my back during training camp,” Dvalishvili said.

“It was (so bad) some days I couldn’t get out of bed and I was laid up and I didn’t want a training camp and I don’t have a cousin like Khabib Nurmagomedov to help me with training.

“Some days the UFC PI was closed. It was Christmas, New Years and weekends. It happened a couple of times, Umar was there and the secretary says, ‘Sorry, we can’t let you in.’

“I’m not making this excuse. You’re a fierce fighter and you’ve got to find a way to win.”

It is currently unclear whether Dvalishvili’s broken back has been confirmed by an X-ray or if he is just using that word to refer to some other type of damage to his spine.

Mike Tyson made similar claims in a famous interview

Incredibly, this isn’t the first time a famous fighter has claimed to have a broken back after picking up a high-profile victory.

Mike Tyson said he was dealing with the same injury as Dvalishvili during the final victory of his Hall of Fame boxing career, coming back from being stopped by Lennox Lewis by beating Clifford Etienne in February 2023.

‘Iron Mike’ scored a knockout in 49 seconds before jumping on the mic and giving an absolutely amazing post-fight interview where he revealed a very serious injury.

“I broke my back. My back is broken,” Tyson famously said.

“(It was) spinal. I broke my back. I don’t even know how to stand. It’s a miracle.

“The doctor took me to the pain center and I wasn’t supposed to fight, but what was I supposed to do? I’m going to take care of my family.”

In 2020, Tyson clarified his comments by pointing out that he was dealing with chronic back pain after suffering severe injuries during a high-speed motorcycle accident that resulted in surgery in 1997.

“Well, look, I have a bad back, and with all the work I’ve put in over the years, the spine in my back just starts to shift,” he explained.

“I have to have surgery, but the doctor said, ‘Hey eventually you’re going to have to start bending over.’

“And then I tried to explain my situation. I just wasn’t eloquent enough to explain it the way I wanted it to be explained.”

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