From the moment that he arrived in the UFC, Umar Nurmagomedov was never going to be your usual Octagon debutant.
The bantamweight contender is the older brother of Usman Nurmagomedov and the cousin of the great Khabib Nurmagomedov, who retired on top of the sport.
After everything that the senior Nurmagomedov was able to accomplish in the UFC, there is always going to be high expectations for his own family to live up to that name.
“The Eagle” didn’t just have success at the highest level of MMA, he was able to completely dominate opponents to the point where he made the toughest stylistic fights look easy.
This has had a knock-on effect on Umar Nurmagomedov, in the way that some fans perceive him.
Umar Nurmagomedov Says Some Fans Get Underwhelmed When He Isn’t “The Eagle”
During an interview on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Nurmagomedov spoke about the way that some fans are not impressed by him because he isn’t as dominant as his elder cousin.
The #2-ranked contender in the bantamweight division, who is likely next in line for a title shot, is putting on great performances but that doesn’t mean that his style or the way that he wins is the same as when “The Eagle” stepped inside the Octagon.
With an undefeated record of 18-0, Nurmagomedov was asked by Kamaru Usman whether exceeding the legendary 29-0 record is something that he thinks about.
He responded by saying that he isn’t looking to replicate his cousin’s career despite people often measuring him by that same level.
“I think it’s going to be difficult to become too close [to] this man and even right now, everybody when we’re going to the cage, when we fought, everybody wait, we’re going to do same job and our wins not bring to people same emotional [effect], you know, because Khabib was maul everyone.
“He go inside, finish him or broke [opponent], he did in the cage like great job and people, to see Nurmagomedov fight, they think we’re going to do same and when we win, they said, ‘Ah it’s like regular fighter, he just win’.”
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