Undefeated bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov, cousin of UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, is eager to return to the cage after more than a year due to injury and aims to become a UFC champion, despite facing challenges in finding higher-ranked opponents willing to fight him.
Umar Nurmagomedov has his eyes on the UFC championship. But first, he’s itching to get back in the cage and climb the ranks.
The undefeated bantamweight is also cousin to UFC legend, Khabib Nurmagomedov. He’s been out of the game for over a year due to injury. He was set to face Cory Sandhagen last August, but it didn’t happen.
He was hoping to compete before 2023 ended. But, he had to wait for UFC Vegas 87 to find an opponent.
Despite his standing, Nurmagomedov won’t face a ranked fighter or a UFC veteran. He’s up against newcomer Bekzat Almakhan. That’s all he could land.
“They make me think I’m the champion in this [division],” he said during UFC Vegas 87 media day. He was referring to bantamweights who refuse to face him. “They really make me think [that], and then I go to the gym and Khabib [Nurmagomedov] or someone else smashes me and they bring me back to Earth.
“I hope they will take this fight, they will [accept] it, someone in the top five maybe after this fight.”
Nurmagomedov admits it’s frustrating. His undefeated record is somehow dismissed while he’s seeking better competition. He’s 16-0 in MMA, with four straight wins in the UFC. Three of those were finishes.
Despite his record, he hears fighters complain. They say he hasn’t done enough to deserve higher-ranked opponents. The 28-year-old Dagestani native wonders, what more does he need to do?
“They’re just talking about, ‘He doesn’t deserve it, he didn’t beat nobody.’ How didn’t I beat nobody?” he asked. “4-0. It’s not bad. How many fighters begin like this? I don’t want to be cocky. I’m not going to say I’m top high level or nothing or something like that.
“If somebody comes to the UFC and he’s showing a good performance and he smashed all his opponents, it means this guy has to fight with somebody strong. You can’t just say he didn’t deserve, he has to beat somebody. OK, how am I going to beat somebody? Merab [Dvalishvili] talks about this. How am I going to beat somebody if they don’t [accept] it?”
Rather than complain, Nurmagomedov prefers to move forward. Almakhan is his next hurdle to staying undefeated. He’s the favorite to win on Saturday. But, the odds don’t matter once the cage door closes.
“I didn’t think this fight is going to be very easy fight for me and I didn’t train,” Nurmagomedov said. “No, I trained very hard. I’m training like I will train for the title. For my opponent, it’s a big opportunity, and I think he’s doing a very great job too. We will see this Saturday.”
Every fight in the UFC is a chance to make a statement. But Nurmagomedov doesn’t feel any undue pressure to deliver a highlight-reel finish just to get attention.
In fact, he promises that he’s never going to bat an eye at comments made about his performance — positive or negative — because that’s never really mattered to him.
“I don’t care about what they’re going to think,” Nurmagomedov said. “I really don’t care. They have their life, I have my life, and I’m doing nothing so somebody will be nice with me and they will say, ‘This guy is very good.’ I don’t care. I have a family I have to take care of. I have my way and I’ll be doing what I want.”
If he does get an impressive win, Nurmagomedov will likely draw a bigger fight and better name for his next opponent. Sandhagen has already said he’ll be watching. If Nurmagomedov shines in victory, he would consider revisiting that matchup again.
Whether it’s Sandhagen or somebody else, Nurmagomedov’s end goal remains the UFC bantamweight title. That belt next goes up for grabs at UFC 299 when reigning champion Sean O’Malley clashes with Marlon “Chito” Vera in the main event.
Nurmagomedov knows he’s not getting the next shot at the title, but he expects a familiar face will be holding onto that belt — at least for a little while longer.
“I think Sean O’Malley is going to smash this guy,” Nurmagomedov said. “Their last fight, Chito won because O’Malley was injured. We don’t know what was going to happen in this fight if he’s not injured. Because until he was injured, O’Malley was smashing him.”