I WILL FIGHT TMZSports.com
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov makes all the sense in the world, especially to the MMA purists, BUT ... Khabib's cousin says, for some reason, the newly crowned UFC champ seems scurred to take the fight.
"It's looking like he's avoiding [me]. He's scared [of] someone who can defend takedowns, who can stop him," Umar told TMZ Sports on Friday, adding ... "I just want to fight."
Of course, on paper, it's the match to make.
Merab just beat Sean O'Malley at UFC 306 .