Umar Nurmagomedov News

Cole Shelton - January 15, 2025

In the co-main event of UFC 311, the bantamweight title is up for grabs as current champion Merab Dvalishvili takes on Umar Nurmagomedov. Heading into the fight, the champ is a +240 underdog while the challenger is a -330 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the bantamweight title fight at UFC 311. The pros believe Merab Dvalishvili will be able to pull off the upset and hand Nurmagomedov his first career loss at UFC 311.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 14, 2025

Aljamain Sterling believes Merab Dvalishvili will silence the doubters once his UFC 311 clash with Umar Nurmagomedov has come to a close. Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov are set to clash this Saturday night at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA. The UFC Bantamweight Championship will be at stake, and Dvalishvili is in search of his first successful title defense. A win for Nurmagomedov would mark his first UFC title victory.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 5, 2025

Umar Nurmagomedov’s coach doesn’t understand why Merab Dvalishvili feels his fighter doesn’t deserve his UFC 311 title fight. Nurmagomedov is scheduled to challenge Dvalishvili for the UFC Bantamweight Championship on January 18th. It’ll Nurmagomedov’s first crack at UFC gold. He earned the title opportunity after defeating Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision back in August 2024.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 5, 2025

Sean O’Malley has a preference for who he wants the UFC bantamweight champion to be when he’s ready to return. O’Malley lost the 135-pound gold to Merab Dvalishvili back in September. The “Suga” show was outworked by his opponent, who effectively utilized his grappling to get the better of the now former bantamweight ruler. O’Malley was defeated via unanimous decision inside The Sphere in Las Vegas.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 2, 2025

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s longtime manager believes there is only one fighter who can match “The Eagle’s” undefeated MMA run. Nurmagomedov ended his pro MMA career with a perfect record of 29-0. He also walked away from pro MMA competition as the reigning UFC lightweight champion. Retiring as an undefeated champion is no small task in the world of MMA, but is there a chance someone can match what Khabib was able to accomplish?

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 19, 2024

One top-ranked UFC bantamweight doesn’t believe Merab Dvalishvili will get past Umar Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili will put the 135-pound gold at stake when he meets Nurmagomedov at the UFC 311 pay-per-view on January 18th. The bout will be held inside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA. It’ll be the UFC 311 co-main event. Nurmagomedov is hoping to secure UFC gold before his teammate Islam Makhachev defends his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan in the main event.

Cole Shelton - December 18, 2024

Aljamain Sterling is frustrated with how Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov was made. Dvalishvili is set to defend his bantamweight title for the first time in the co-main event of UFC 311 against Nurmagomedov. It’s the fight many fans wanted to see, but Sterling doesn’t like how the bout was made on short notice.

Josh Evanoff - December 10, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili wants an apology from Umar Nurmagomedov. ‘The Machine’ finally has his first title defense set. Just a few months removed from defeating Sean O’Malley, Merab Dvalishvili will defend the gold against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January. For his part, ‘Young Eagle’ earned the title opportunity by defeating Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision in August.

Josh Evanoff - December 6, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili nearly came to blows with Umar Nurmagomedov earlier today. ‘The Machine’ and ‘Young Eagle’ finally had their long-awaited clash finalized earlier this week. Despite talk of Merab Dvalishvili rematching Petr Yan or Sean O’Malley, he instead signed a deal to face Umar Nurmagomedov. The Russian famously earned a title opportunity with a unanimous decision victory over Cory Sandhagen in August.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 5, 2024

UFC 311 will be getting two major title fights. Dana White, UFC CEO, recently took to social media to drop some major news on his promotion’s first pay-per-view event of 2025. In the main event of UFC 311, Islam Makhachev will put his lightweight championship at stake against Arman Tsarukyan.

Harry Kettle - November 26, 2024

Sean O’Malley doesn’t believe that Merab Dvalishvili is overly interested in the idea of fighting Umar Nurmagomedov. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili is the rightful UFC bantamweight champion. He defeated Sean O’Malley to claim the belt for the first time and ever since then, fans have been wondering who he’ll defend against first. Some have suggested an O’Malley rematch, whereas others believe Umar Nurmagomedov and Petr Yan are the top two contenders – especially after the latter’s win over Deiveson Figueiredo last weekend.

Harry Kettle - November 25, 2024

UFC star Umar Nurmagomedov has issued a warning to Merab Dvalishvili as talk of a fight between them continues. As we know, Umar Nurmagomedov is seen as the number one contender at bantamweight in the eyes of many. The champion, meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili, is more interested in taking on Petr Yan. As of this writing, it’s not quite clear as to who is going to get the next crack at the 135 pound belt.

Curtis Calhoun - October 28, 2024

UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov went through a similar delayed coronation to a world title shot as his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov now traverses. Umar, the presumptive No. 1 bantamweight contender in the UFC, is expected to face Merab Dvalishvili next. Despite Dvalishvili’s stance against Umar getting the next title shot, UFC CEO Dana White seemed to confirm as much during the UFC 308 post-fight press conference.

Curtis Calhoun - October 25, 2024

UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov didn’t take long to respond to Merab Dvalishvili’s recent outburst at a fan Q+A event. Nurmagomedov is the presumptive No. 1 bantamweight contender after defeating Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi earlier this year. The undefeated Dagestani seemed destined to face Dvalishvili following the latter’s title win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 25, 2024

Merab Dvalishvili believes Umar Nurmagomedov is running scared. While many believe Nurmagomedov is deserving of a number one contender fight, rumors have swirled that his next bout will not be for a title. Instead, the word going around is that Nurmagomedov will fight Song Yadong.

Curtis Calhoun - October 21, 2024

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling defended Merab Dvalishvili against Umar Nurmagomedov’s ducking allegations. Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley for the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 306 last month. The win handed him a world championship after a long, windy road to the top of the division.

Curtis Calhoun - October 17, 2024

A UFC bantamweight headliner between contenders Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong is reportedly in the works for the promotion’s return to Tampa, FL in December. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani reported Thursday that while contracts haven’t been signed, the UFC plans to book the matchup for December 14th. Neither Nurmagomedov nor Yadong have confirmed the reports of the targeted UFC Tampa booking, as of this writing.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 13, 2024

Umar Nurmagomedov has accused Merab Dvalishvili of ducking him. Dvalishvili is the UFC bantamweight champion. He captured the gold by defeating Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision at UFC 306 inside the Sphere in Las Vegas.