Dvalishvili unstoppable in thrilling UFC 311 title defence over Nurmagomedov
Despite being the listed underdog, energetic bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili successfully defended his title at UFC 311 and became the first fighter to defeat Umar Nurmagomedov.
Merab Dvalishvili said not so fast.
Despite being the listed underdog, the energetic bantamweight champion successfully defended his title for the first time and became the first fighter to defeat Umar Nurmagomedov, winning a unanimous decision in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 311 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
For Dvalishvili, he made it clear leading up to this event that this matchup was about respect.
Back in December at a press conference promoting UFC 311, the pair had to be separated by security during a backstage altercation as words were exchanged between the two fighters after Dvalishvili felt he had been disrespected by Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili initially won the title this past September in the UFC 306 main event when he earned a unanimous decision over Sean O’Malley at the UFC’s Sphere event.
He was riding that momentum and had won 11 fights in a row en route to the title, including victories over former champions Jose Aldo, Henry Cejudo and Petr Yan, yet he made it known he did not appreciate how Nurmagomedov talked about him.
Nurmagomedov earned his title shot by getting his hand raised via five-round unanimous decision against Cory Sandhagen roughly six months ago in his first UFC main event. Nurmagomedov was 18-0 in mixed martial arts and 6-0 in the UFC but prior to UFC 311 Sandhagen was the only ranked opponent Nurmagomedov had faced on his run to a title shot
Once the action in the cage began, though, two things became clear: Nurmagomedov absolutely deserved to share the cage with the champion, but also that no active bantamweight can hang with Dvalishvili over five rounds.
The pair didn’t waste any time once the fight began, both astutely aware of the other’s striking and wrestling ability. Dvalishvili was able to fend off early takedown efforts from Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov stung Dvalishvili late in the opening round to get some respect.
Nurmagomedov displayed his versatility as the fight progressed, finding his range as the taller fighter and even took Dvalishvili down and briefly had back control.
Nurmagomedov’s cousin, retired former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, was one of his coaches and cornermen giving the 29-year-old challenger advice.
In between the second and third round, Khabib instructed his cousin to focus more on wrestling and take control of the fight that way. That isn’t what ended up happening.
Dvalishvili, a shorter orthodox fighter, at times had difficulty getting inside on Nurmagomedov, a lengthy southpaw, but that certainly did not dissuade Dvalishvili from pressing forward and initiating takedowns of his own.
The Serra-Longo Fight Team member has become known for his relentless pace and seemingly unlimited gas tank and nothing has changed since the last time fight fans saw him compete.
Heading into this matchup, Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov averaged roughly same significant strike rate per minute rate (both in the 4.3 to 4.5 range) but Nurmagomedov was the far more efficient defensively responsible striker, absorbing three fewer strikes per minute.
Dvalishvili out-struck Nurmagomedov 142-113 when all was said and done.
Nurmagomedov had also never been taken down in the UFC but that changed in the third round when Dvalishvili landed his first of his seven total takedowns.
Late in the fight, Dvalishvili passed Georges St-Pierre for the most total takedowns in UFC history.
The championship rounds is where the champion shone most, increasing the volume of his takedowns round over round.
The 34-year-old from Georgia alluded to an injury he had to battle through during preparations for UFC 311 and made no secret this week that his first title defence was happening sooner than he wanted it.
He revealed after the win he dealt with a leg infection during training camp, but you wouldn’t’ve guessed it based on his performance.
After the fight, Nurmagomdeov told Joe Rogan he thinks he broke his hand in the opening round, which affected his punching in the later rounds.
All three judges awarded Dvalishvili the final three rounds of the contest.
It is unclear who Dvalishvili’s next title defence will be against — O’Malley was in the crowd watching — but based on the high-level, competitive nature of the UFC 311 co-main event it would not be surprising to see a rematch at some point in the future.
