Back in January at UFC 311, Dvalishvili entered his first title defense against a very promising Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of the pay-per-view card. Dvalishvili had a tough fight in the first couple of rounds, but then went on to dominate and overwhelm Nurmagomedov to win a unanimous decision.

The co-main event of UFC 316 pits reigning UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion Julianna Pena defending against American judo expert Kayla Harrison. Pena recently became a two-time champion by beating Raquel Pennington at UFC 307, her first bout since a 2022 loss to Amanda Nunes.

While not everyone was thrilled to see Sean O'Malley get an immediate title shot after losing the belt last September, Merab Dvalishvili believes a rematch was the best possible option.