Undisputed bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili will make the first defense of his divisional crown in the co-headliner of UFC 311 next month, booking a grudge match with the unbeaten, Umar Nurmagomedov on January 18. from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.
Dvalishvili, the current undisputed bantamweight champion, managed to scoop undisputed spoils back in September at the Las Vegas Sphere, upsetting the apple cart at Noche UFC with a unanimous decision win over surging champion, Sean O’Malley in another heated pairing.
As for the streaking number two rated, Nurmagomedov, the Russian grappling ace turned in his stunning eighteenth career victory on the trot back in August, taking home a unanimous decision win over former interim bantamweight title challenger, Cory Sandhagen in a rescheduled UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia headliner.
Merab Dvalishvili defends title in grudge match against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311
UFC CEO, Dana White confirmed Merab Dvalishvili would take on the undefeated, Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 on his official social media tonight.
As well as Dvalishvili’s title defense against Russian ace, Nurmagomedov, the promotion will field a title doubleheader on the same card, with undisputed lightweight kingpin, Islam Makhachev rematching Armenian challenger, Arman Tsarukyan as the duo rekindling their rivalry dating back to 2019.
In the midst of a stunning eleven-fight winning spree, Georgian champion, Dvalishvili has turned back the likes of Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, Jose Aldo and Marlon Moraes en route to his title success against Montana striker, O’Malley.
Nurmagomedov, the cousin of former lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov and the brother of current Bellator MMA lightweight kingpin, Usman Nurmagomedov — entered the Octagon boasting an unbeaten 13-0 professional record, and has since boasted wins over the likes of Brain Kelleher, and Raoni Barcelos, to go with his August judging success against Sandhagen.