Merab Dvalishvili cannot be broken.
The reigning UFC bantamweight champion earned the first defense of his belt Saturday with a grueling unanimous decision win over Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
After falling behind in the opening 10 minutes on two of the three judges’ scorecards, Dvalishvili dialed up his always frenetic pace to an even more extreme level, outworking and ultimately outlasting Nurmagomedov in an exhaustive affair.
“You guys know I’m training all the time, I am ‘The Machine,’ but when I take this fight, it was six weeks’ notice and I was injured,” Dvalishvili said post-fight.
“I had a big cut on my leg and I had an infection, but I knew the UFC needed me.”
Dvalishvili (19-4) was more than a 2-to-1 betting underdog at BetMGM despite entering UFC 311 with the longest win streak in UFC bantamweight division history, which he extended to 11 straight with his victorious performance. Dvalishvili, 34, also moved into fourth all time for UFC bantamweight wins and broke the record for most takedowns in UFC history, previously held by MMA legend Georges St-Pierre.
But things started out rough for the champion.
With UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov in the challenger’s corner, the previously unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov (18-1) looked strong in the opening round, nullifying virtually all of Dvalishvili’s offense and catching Dvalishvili with a nasty right hand from range.
Nurmagomedov, 29, continued to defend Dvalishvili’s takedown attempts in the second round as well, but the tide turned as the champion’s relentless pace and pressure gradually wore on Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili finally dragged Nurmagomedov to the mat in the third round and landed an array of punching volume on the feet — and like a snowball rolling down a hill, momentum only grew more and more in Dvalishvili’s favor.
Dvalishvili tossed out a continuous 21 takedown attempts in the championship rounds, successfully getting Nurmagomedov to the floor six times, and outlanded the Dagestani by a margin of 69-44 in total strikes over those final 10 minutes, all while repeatedly playing to the crowd and showboating at the slightest window of inactivity.
In the end, even Nurmagomedov admitted that the champion had his number.
“I don’t think I won this fight,” Nurmagomedov said.
Nurmagomedov also noted that he believed he broke his hand in the opening round.
