Umar Nurmagomedov will get a chance to prove how legit of a contender he is against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi this weekend (Sat., Aug. 3, 2024).
The Bantamweight division has always been competitive and exciting. That hasn’t changed as we enter the second half of 2024 and contendership will be decided ahead of the upcoming title fight at Noche UFC on Sept. 14, 2024.
For Nurmagomedov, the No. 2-ranked Sandhagen will be his first-ranked opponent. Should he win, Nurmagomedov says he’s been promised a title opportunity against the winner of the champion, Sean O’Malley, vs. top contender, Merab Dvalishvili.
“I hope I will fight next, they said I will fight whoever will win [between O’Malley and Dvalishvili],” Nurmagomedov told MMA Junkie. “Yes, [they told me I will be next].”
Nurmagomedov, 28, has been flawless in his 17-fight career. The Sandhagen match up isn’t the first time the pair prepared to collide as they weren’t supposed to do so in Nashville, Tennessee last year (Aug. 5, 2023). Unfortunately, Nurmagomedov was injured out of the bout and replaced by Rob Font, who Sandhagen defeated via a unanimous decision.
Regarding the next title fight, Nurmagomedov isn’t sure who will get the job done, but he doesn’t think either O’Malley or Dvalishvili wants to fight him.
“I think they pray [they don’t fight me],” Nurmagomedov said. “They hope I will pull out and will not take this opportunity to fight for the title. They wish this. For me, it doesn’t matter who wins. It’s a very hard fight for both. One is a wrestling, one is a striker weight height. He is tall. Stylistically, for me, personally, it’s very difficult to say who is going to win. I don’t know.”