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Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov: UFC 311 Picks, Predictions and Odds

A fascinating battle awaits in the co-main event at UFC 311 as Merab Dvalishvili defends his Bantamweight title against Umar Nurmagomedov.

Dvalishvili (18-4-0) will be making the first defense of his Bantamweight title against Nurmagomedov (18-0-0) in a fight which takes place on Saturday, January 18 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

The fights begin at 6 PM ET with the Early Preliminary Card, followed by the Preliminary Card at 8 PM ET and the Main Card at 10 PM ET.

Our article will give you our two best bets for the main event, as well as the current moneyline odds for Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov.

UFC 311: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov betting picks and predictions

Fight to go the distance - Yes (-230)

Both Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov are no strangers to going the distance in their careers.

Dvalishvili has seen the judges’ scorecards in 11 of his 13 UFC fights and only has one stoppage win to his name, a second round TKO of Marlon Moraes in 2021.

The 33-year-old has also gone the full 25-minute championship distance twice, once when winning the title against Sean O’Malley in September 2024 and again against former champion Petr Yan in 2023.

Dvalishvili possesses a sambo wrestling style, but is not reliant on control or successful takedowns.

When he fought Yan, the Georgian completed just 11 of a UFC single-match record 49 takedown attempts. His swarming style leaves many of his opponents unable to implement their gameplan.

Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, has had six UFC fights with a 50 percent finish rate.

The 29-year-old does have a TKO win over Raoni Barcelos and submissions of Brian Kelleher and Sergey Morozov.

The undefeated fighter's last two outings have gone the distance, including his number one contender fight with Cory Sandhagen over five rounds last time out in August 2024.

Nurmagomedov stepped up significantly in class for this fight and was able to land more significant strikes as well as landing five of his 13 takedown attempts.

Dvalishvili is on an 11-fight winning run after losing his first two in the UFC, while Nurmagomedov remains unbeaten.

Both could cancel out each other's threats and this one could well be played out over the full championship distance.

Merab Dvalishvili to win by decision (+375)

There is no doubt that Nurmagomedov is a talent, but Dvalishvili will not give his title up easily.

The Georgian has been keen to point out the road to his title win, which saw him go through three former UFC champions in Henry Cejudo, Yan and Jose Aldo.

Nurmagomedov performed well against Sandhagen, but Dvalishvili will implement a much higher pace than the American did. The champion could well take what is set to be a close fight.

UFC 311: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov odds

Merab Dvalishvili

Umar Nurmagomedov

Moneyline

+240

-300

By Decision or Technical Decision

+350

-110

By KO, TKO or DQ

+1100

+700

By Submission

+2200

+400

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.

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