Dvalishvili Faces Nurmagomedov’s Title Challenge
After UFC 306, Merab Dvalishvili preferred Deiveson Figueiredo over Umar Nurmagomedov. He later beat Umar and lost his title to Petr Yan, per the UFC.
The title-shot debate
In the days after UFC 306, Dvalishvili said he would rather face Figueiredo, citing the former flyweight champion’s recent wins at bantamweight. Nurmagomedov, then unbeaten and coming off a decision win over Cory Sandhagen, campaigned for the opportunity. On the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Usman advised Dvalishvili to welcome the difficult matchup. Yahoo Sports reported Usman’s comments and Dvalishvili’s preference.
They met at UFC 311
The UFC booked Dvalishvili against Nurmagomedov for January 18, 2025. Dvalishvili won by unanimous decision in the co-main event at UFC 311, handing Nurmagomedov his first professional loss and keeping the bantamweight title. The official scorecards were 48–47, 48–47 and 49–46 for the champion.
Usman’s advice was framed as a challenge to take on the toughest available opponent. Dvalishvili’s initial preference for Figueiredo became part of the public debate, but Nurmagomedov ultimately received the title fight through the UFC’s matchmaking process.
What happened after UFC 311
Dvalishvili defended his title against Sean O’Malley at UFC 316 and Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320, then lost the belt to Petr Yan by unanimous decision at UFC 323. Their trilogy bout is scheduled for October 24, 2026, at UFC 333, according to Dvalishvili’s UFC record, the UFC 323 scorecards and MMA Fighting’s UFC 333 announcement report.
Sources
Tags: MMA
