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Merab Dvalishvili Runs Umar Nurmagomedov Ragged in Incredible UFC 311 Title Fight

The two bantamweights left it all in the cage in Los Angeles, CA.

Drew Beaupre

(Zuffa LLC

The co-main event of UFC 311 saw undefeated bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov step into the Octagon to challenge Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili.

Merab Outlasts Nurmagomedov With Relentless Pace

Bantamweight is well-established as arguably the deepest division in the UFC and across MMA as a whole, and the main event of September's UFC 306 saw Dvalishvili extend his incredible winning run to 11 fights when he defeated Sean O'Malley by unanimous decision to snatch the UFC bantamweight belt.

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Dvalishvili's win at Sphere in Las Vegas came just over a month after Nurmagomedov bested top contender Cory Sandhagen in his first UFC main event, and after a bit of deliberation the UFC elected to book the undefeated fighter as the next bantamweight title challenger.

Nurmagomedov entered the UFC 311 co-main event as a decent-sized favorite to unseat Dvalishvili, and despite both being known for their incredible grappling skills it took nearly a round and a half before the first meaningful scramble that saw the challenger briefly take the champion's back.

The striking exchanges were largely a battle between Nurmagomedov's length and kicks against Dvalishvili's pace, and as the fight went on "The Machine" appeared to gain considerable confidence from the relentless pressure he was applying to his opponent.

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Nurmagomedov looked visibly fatigued as things moved into the championship rounds, and late in the final frame Dvalishvili even began showboating a bit before the judges awarded him a unanimous decision victory for his first successful title defense.

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The UFC 311 main card featured some entertaining bouts that mostly went the three-round distance aside from finishes from Bogdan Guskov and Azamat Bekoev, but the event's main card opened with first-round finishes from Reinier de Ridder and Jailton Almeida before Jiří Procházka stopped Jamahal Hill in the final round of a light heavyweight war.

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• Bellator Veteran Neiman Gracie Parts Ways with PFL, Kai Kamaka III Asks for Release

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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