Umar Nurmagomedov’s Unbeaten Run Ended in His First UFC
Umar Nurmagomedov lost his first UFC championship challenge to Merab Dvalishvili on January 18, 2025. The five-round bantamweight contest at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, ended by unanimous decision and brought the challenger’s unbeaten professional run to an end.
The title opportunity followed a major five-round victory
Nurmagomedov had defeated Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision in August 2024. That completed main event followed a three-round decision over Bekzat Almakhan earlier the same year.
His previous UFC results demonstrated several ways of winning. He had knocked out Raoni Barcelos in January 2023 and submitted Brian Kelleher and Sergey Morozov with rear-naked chokes during earlier appearances.
The challenger started well before the pace changed
Against Dvalishvili, Nurmagomedov’s striking variety and grappling helped him establish early success. The champion increasingly imposed pressure as the rounds passed and continued advancing through the championship rounds.
The final scores favored Dvalishvili 48–47, 48–47 and 49–46. Two narrow cards reflected a competitive challenge, but every judge ultimately awarded the completed fight to the defending champion.
Later decisions restarted his winning momentum
Nurmagomedov returned in October 2025 and defeated Mario Bautista by unanimous decision over three rounds. He followed that result with another unanimous-decision victory against Deiveson Figueiredo in January 2026.
Those wins came after the championship setback rather than erasing it. The Dvalishvili fight remained his first unsuccessful title challenge, while the subsequent performances demonstrated a successful return to competition against established bantamweight opponents.
Sources
- UFC: qualifying victories, title defeat and subsequent Bautista and Figueiredo wins
- UFC: early success and later championship pressure
- UFC: official scores, date and venue
