Merab Dvalishvili proved the doubters wrong and successfully defended his UFC bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision win over Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311 from Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Both Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov put on a fun first round. The champion and challenger came out of the gates swinging and established a frenetic pace. It was a big right hand from Nurmagomedov that drew the attention, though.
Dvalishvili earned his belt as a relentless wrestler, but that wasn't in his early game plan. The champion engaged with Nurmagomedov in a kickboxing match that saw him on the short end of more exchanges than not.