UFC Tampa has its headliner.
Today (Thurs., Oct. 17, 2024), Red Corner MMA reported that Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) No. 1 contender Umar Nurmagomedov will fight No. 8 ranked Song Yadong in the last UFC main event of the year for UFC Tampa on Dec. 14 from inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fl. It will be Nurmagomedov’s second consecutive headlining spot.
MMAMania.com confirmed with sources close to the situation that this fight is indeed in the works.
BREAKING: Umar Nurmagomedov will face Song Yadong on December 14 in Tampa, Florida. Do you think Umar will get a title shot if he beats Yadong?
Follow @RedCorner.MMA for breaking news and exclusive content pic.twitter.com/hvGjSXS9ex
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) October 17, 2024
While the fight is very surprising because it was indicated that Nurmagomedov was next in line to challenge Merab Dvalisvilli for the Bantamweight championship, the undefeated Russian did tweet last week that he wasn’t going to wait until after March 2025 for a title shot.
“If Merab is going to avoid me, I won’t wait for him. And I’ll fight with anyone UFC suggests before Ramadan,” Nurmagomedov wrote on Oct. 11.
If Merab is going to avoid me, I won’t wait for him. And I’ll fight with anyone UFC suggests before ramadan
— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv) October 11, 2024
Whether someone dislikes Nurmagomedov or not, he needs to be commended for taking a tough fight when he has a title shot within grasp.
Nevertheless, Nurmagomedov is coming off a dominant win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi in Aug. Meanwhile, Yadong is coming off a disappointing loss to Petr Yan at UFC 299 in April.
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