Merab Dvalisvhili set the pace for Umar Nurmagomedov as they settled an intense feud when they finally stepped into the octagon on Saturday night.
The bantamweight duo had no love lost after a rivalry nearly came to an end during their launch press conference. And they entered UFC 311 with fans completely divided over who they thought would win the grudge match.
Dvalishvili had just won the title from Sean O'Malley at UFC 306 in September, and admitted he would have preferred a later date during the fight. However, that didn't happen and he was forced to defend on the first card of the year.
Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov UFC 311 result
In an interesting twist, famed middleweight mauler Chris Leben was one of the judges for this five-round showdown; his first title fight since transitioning from fighting in 2022. And he was made to work by the two heavyweight fighters who had some good early rounds.
Despite months of bitter feuding, which saw the champion denied entry to the UFC Performance Institute, the two were cautious early on. Eventually, Merab Dvalishvili started to open up and even survived a takedown attempt as he found some success.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Right at the end of the first inning, Umar Nurmagomedov landed a solid right hand that hit the champion and stiffened the legs slightly. The second started a bit more aggressively, with both men making their moves for a takedown.
When the champion shot and briefly looked like he was going to land, Nurmagomedov eventually reversed the momentum and landed one of his own takedowns. He eventually got back to his feet, with Dvalishvili landing big shots but also taking rare steps back.
In the fourth, with seconds remaining, the champion finally got the elusive takedown to tie Georges St-Pierre's UFC takedown record. He managed to score two more in the closing stages of the fifth after showboating and huge fouls.
And the Georgian managed to score another major decision victory and defend his title for the first time. 48-47 on two cards and 49-46 on another was the score that secured his victory.
Merab Dvalishvili had bad blood with Umar Nurmagomedov before UFC 311
The champion had felt that Nurmagomedov's path to the title was not legitimate, and that he had cheated somewhat on his way to a title shot. He believed that O'Malley or Petr Yan deserved rematches with him for the title, given their more impressive resumes.
“I never said he's not a good fighter,” he told Bloody Elbow before the fight. “I say he's a good fighter, but he takes the shortcut, you know. He cheated a bit because he didn't fight anyone and guys during their debut.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
“And then as a debutant he fought number two, you know, that's a gift and that's a shortcut. And that's not how you want to earn your title fight. That's not right. I think he should have fought one more. Maybe against Song Yadong.
“But when the UFC asked me, I said, OK, I'll fight him. But I wanted to fight in February or March. But that's what I said. Why don't I like him? Because he called me a fake champion. Moreover, he was disrespectful to my country.”
Related topics
Comments