Dvalishvili finishes strong to edge Nurmagomedov at UFC 311

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Merab Dvalishvili had already defeated four straight champions before his first UFC title defense this year – and yet Saturday 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), by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight for Dvalishvili, with official scores of 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47.

Retired Hall of Famer Khabib’s younger cousin Nurmagomedov emerged as the heavy betting favorite on Saturday, but Dvalishvili vowed to “humiliate” him in their five-round fight. According to UFC statistics, he outpointed Nurmagomedov with a strike total of 133-81 and surpassed longtime welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre as the all-time leader for career knockouts at inside the Octagon.

“Umar is a tough fighter and he is good, but he called me old,” said Dvalishvili, who at 34 is five years older than Nurmagomedov. “Yes, I’m old but I work every day. I’m a hard worker.”

He added: “I’m so proud of myself. I can retire today and I can die happy.”

It was a competitive fight, particularly 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 away 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 pinned by Khabib, admitted in his post-fight comments that he injured his hand in the first round. Although he has a much more striking style than his famous cousin, he is still known for his camp’s smothering grappling. He struggled to get anything going in that department against Dvalishvili, however, converting just 2 of 15 takedown attempts.

“I think I won in the first round. The others were close,” Nurmagomedov said. “And after the first round, I can’t hit anymore because I think I broke my (left) hand, and the game went differently, you know?”

In the build-up to the fight, Dvalishvili complained about Nurmagomedov’s fast track to a title fight. Nurmagomedov only beat one top opponent on his way to the title fight, compared to Dvalishvili’s run which included fights against José Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo and Sean O’Malley. Ultimately, Dvalishvili’s experience in elite five-round fights could have made the difference, as he dominated Nurmagomedov late.

Dvalishvili won the belt by defeating O’Malley at UFC Noche in September. O’Malley has since undergone and recovered from hip surgery, and was expected to likely fight the winner of Saturday’s contest. O’Malley sat cageside for the event.