LOS ANGELES – The first title fight of 2025 is set after Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov made weight Friday for their UFC 311 grudge match for bantamweight gold.
After claiming the belt from Sean O’Malley in September, reigning champ Dvalishvili was 134 pounds at official weigh-ins from the UFC host hotel. Undefeated challenger Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, tipped the scale at the championship weight limit of 135 for his first title opportunity.
Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) will bring an 11-fight winning streak into his first attempted title defense, while Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) has yet to experience defeat in his career and is pegged as the betting favorite to take the strap in the co-main event on Saturday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. The main card on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews/Disney+ and ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
