Dvalishvili closes in style to reach Nurmagomedov at UFC 311

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Merab Dvalishvili had already beaten four consecutive champions in his first UFC title defense this year – and yet Saturday still might have been the most impressive night of his career.

Dvalishvili (19-4) defended his bantamweight championship for the first time in the co-main event of UFC 311 inside the Intuit Dome, defeating previously undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov (18-1) via unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight for Dvalishvili with official scores of 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47.

Nurmagomedov, the younger cousin of retired Hall of Famer Khabib, entered Saturday’s contest as a significant betting favorite, but Dvalishvili vowed to “humble” him in their five-round bout. According to UFC Stats, he outscored Nurmagomedov in total strikes 133-81 and surpassed longtime welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre as the all-time leader in career knockouts inside the Octagon.

It was a competitive match, especially early on, but as always, Dvalishvili’s pace proved to be his best weapon. He fell behind in the first two rounds and suffered an early cut near his left eye. However, his volume began to wear on Nurmagomedov in the third round and he sealed his victory in the final minute with a clean right hand and two successful takedowns.

Nurmagomedov, who was cornered by Khabib, admitted in his post-fight comments that he suffered a hand injury in the opening round. Although he has a much more striking-based style than his famous cousin, he is still known for his camp’s stifling contention. He struggled to get things going in that department against Dvalishvili, but converted just 2 of 15 takedown attempts.

In the build-up to the fight, Dvalishvili complained about Nurmagomedov’s fast track to a title fight. Nurmagomedov only beat one highly ranked opponent en route to the title fight compared to Dvalishvili’s path that included a run of José Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo and Sean O’Malley. In the end, Dvalishvili’s experience in elite five-round fights could have been the difference as he dominated Nurmagomedov late on.

Dvalishvili won the belt by defeating O’Malley at UFC Noche in September. O’Malley has since undergone and recovered from hip surgery and expectations were that he would likely fight the winner of Saturday’s contest. O’Malley was caged for the event.