Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov prediction: Umar Nurmagomedov looking for a decision victory

The bantamweight division features a match between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov scheduled for the early hours of Sunday at UFC 311. Bookmakers see Dvalishvili as the moderate underdog while Umar Nurmagomedov, who is on an unbeaten run, is the favorite. In this bout, there is something up for grabs, which is the UFC Bantamweight Championship, currently being held by Merab Dvalishvili. The event will occur at the Intuit Dome, Los Angeles, California, United States. Dvalishvili, after losing his first two UFC fights, has turned his fortune around by winning his next nine fights. He aims to secure a victory in this match to make it his 12th consecutive win, while Umar will be looking for his 19th win as well. Who will eventually come out on top?

Merab Dvalishvili - looking for his 12th win

Merab Dvalishvili is aiming to secure another victory to further cement his status among the top fighters in his division. He is ranked first as the current best MMA bantamweight fighter and the 9th current best P4P MMA fighter. He started his professional fighting career at the Ring of Combat promotion in 2014 and spent just three years there. Within those years, he won five times and recorded a loss via decision. He then moved to UFC promotion in 2017 and has fought 13 times, winning 11 and losing two. Merab boasts of a professional career of 18 wins and four losses in total. He is currently Weighing in at 135 lbs and standing at 5'6", he's known for being tough to knock out thanks to his exceptional stamina and has only been defeated once by stoppage. He boasts notable victories against top bantamweights like Marlon Moraes, Jose Aldo, and Petr Yan. Dvalishvili tends not to focus on submissions, suggesting that this fight will likely be dominated by wrestling for position. The winner will probably be the one who can deliver the most effective ground and pound attacks.

Umar Nurmagomedov - hoping to keep his unbeaten run

Umar Nurmagomedov boasts of a professional record of 18 wins. The unbeaten hero began his professional career at the PFL promotion in 2018. Just after a little spell in which he recorded 2 victories, he migrated to the UFC promotion. He fought six times, winning all. His last fight was on August 03, 2024, in the UFC against Cory Sandhagen, which ended in a unanimous decision victory. Before that bout he faced Bekzat Almakhan at the UFC Fight Night Edition and won via unanimous decision. Early 2023, he had an impressive show in his victory over Raoni Barcelos and was awarded the UFC Fight Night Performance of the Night. He had the same award in his submission victory over Sergey Morozov. Other fighters he has recorded such victories over were Brian Kelleher (rear naked choke submission), Nate Maness (unanimous decision), Sidemar Honorio (unanimous decision), Taras Grytskiv (rear naked choke submission), Saidyokub Kakhramonov (unanimous decision), and Fatkhidin Sobirov (unanimous decision). In 2019, he won the vacant GF Bantamweight Championship against Braian González via a rear naked choke submission and the FMMAS Bantamweight Championship against Wagner Lima via unanimous decision.

Expert Betting Tips

Both fighters are excellent wrestlers; Merab holds a judo black belt, while Umar has excellent cardio. Merab's strength in this fight is the wealth of experience, which can only be compared to the number of fights he has had, but his opponent stands tall in the age advantage, height, and reach. While his defense is strong, it may not quite match up to his opponent Umar Nurmagomedov's, but Merab's striking skills have been key to his success. Despite their wrestling backgrounds, they both favor striking, with each landing about four significant strikes per minute. Going into this fight, Umar is considered the moderate favorite due to his unbeaten runs. It is expected that this bout will be tough and will, at the end, go the distance. 

Our prediction for the match is Umar Nurmagomedov win by KO, TKO, DQ or submission for odds of 1.65 at 1xbet

Our second prediction - Umar Nurmagomedov win Decision or Technical Decision for odds of 1.90 at Bet365

Our third prediction is Umar Nurmagomedov win by KO, TKO, DQ and round 5 for odds 34.00 at Betway