Ilia Topuria is a wanted man.
The new Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight champion is looking every bit the part of the superstar he was predicted to become. Topuria’s second round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski (watch highlights) has sent him into a new stratosphere of fame after UFC 298 two weekends ago (Feb. 17, 2024). As a result, he’s on the tongue-tips of potential challengers aplenty.
Of all the possible names mentioned by the community or Topuria thus far, none have understandably considered the current Bellator Lightweight champion, Usman Nurmagomedov, who has surprisingly thrown his name into the mix. The undefeated 17-0 (1 no contest) Nurmagomedov, 25, took to Instagram with a since-deleted story that displayed an image of a matador getting struck through the pants by a bull.
Usman Nurmagomedov, brother of #UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov, posted and later deleted this from his Instagram story targeted at Ilia Topuria.
The text translates to:
“For every matador there is a bull. Umar doesn’t have to move up in weight, he has a brother who will… pic.twitter.com/BvS5lUqtKG
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 29, 2024
“For every matador, there is a bull,” Nurmagomedov said. “Umar [Nurmagomedov] doesn’t have to move up in weight, he has a brother who will tear your ass.”
Usman’s also undefeated older brother, the 28-year-old Umar (16-0), will return to action against Bekzat Almakhan at UFC Vegas 87 this weekend (Sat., March 2, 2024). Primarily a Bantamweight for the entirety of his career, Umar has fought once at Featherweight, which came when he scored a first round rear-naked choke submission over Brian Kelleher at UFC 272 in March 2022 (watch highlights).
As for Usman, there haven’t been any updates on his future in Professional Fighters League (PFL) since the promotion acquired Bellator and he tested positive for a banned substance after his unanimous decision win against Brent Primus at Bellator 300 in October 2023. The win was overturned to a no-contest by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) which imposed a six-month suspension on the champion.