“Sugar” isn’t scared of an infamous last name.
Umar Nurmagomedov scored the biggest win of his career at UFC Abu Dhabi yesterday (Sat., Aug. 3, 2024) when he cruised to a unanimous decision over top contender Cory Sandhagen from inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
After his fight, Nurmagomedov called for a Bantamweight title shot against the winner of the upcoming fight between Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvilli at UFC 306, aka Noche UFC.
O’Malley had his eyes all over the fight yesterday, tweeting about it.
I’d KO that little twat.
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) August 3, 2024
Umnar still has time to pull out.
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) August 3, 2024
“Sugar” reacted to Nurmagomedov’s win on his YouTube channel after the fight.
“Alright, guys, Umnar [Umar] got the job done. Pretty close fight, in my opinion,” O’Malley said. “It looked like he did win, but again, it was a close fight. Cory, in my opinion, is one of the very best pound-for-pound guys in the world, so for Umnar to be ranked No. 10, a lot of the guys wouldn’t fight him. I wasn’t surprised he didn’t have any high-level fights up until this. No one wanted to fight this guy—incredible performance by both guys. Cory did a good job of shutting down Umar’s offensive takedowns and wrestling. The striking was pretty close. Umar looked like he landed harder shots.
“Me vs. Umar next? #wewillsee. LOL. Figgy called me out. Ilia [Topuria] and Max [Holloway] are going to fight soon. Undefeated Umar [18-0] vs. undefeated ‘Suga’ [19-0] beat a Dagestani? I wouldn’t mind that. That would be a real good to get at Conor [McGregor]. Oh, imagine how jealous he would be. I might go through Umar just for that! Could be a massive potential next fight.”
A fight between O’Malley and Nurmagomedov would be absolutely gigantic and a real possibility. “The Sugar Show” has to get through “The Machine” first, though, and he’s an underdog.
For complete UFC Abu Dhabi: “Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov” results and play-by-play, click HERE!