Merab Dvalishvili will defend his bantamweight title for the first time against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January.

A pair of title fights are set to headline UFC 311 with Islam Makhachev taking on Arman Tsarukyan in the main event with Merab Dvalishvili clashing with Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event on Jan.

Undisputed bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili will make the first defense of his divisional crown in the co-headliner of UFC 311 next month, booking a

UFC bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) was heavily chastised for calling out Petr Yan (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) after he defeated Deiveison Figueiredo this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 248. Dvalishvili already beat Yan before, winning a lopsided unanimous decision where he shot a single-fight UFC record 49 takedown attempts.

Umar Nurmagomedov has turned the fire up in his newfound rivalry with current UFC Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili on X. Yan put on a clinic as he headlined UFC Macau against former champion Deiveson Figueredo and called out the current champ.

Two titles will be on the line at UFC 311, where lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will face Arman Tsarukyan and bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili will face Umar Nurmagomedov at the Intuit Dome on Jan.

Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan will rematch for the lightweight championship in the UFC 311 main event on Jan. 18.