Tag: Umar Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov Already Stressed Over Cornering Back-To-Back Title Fights at UFC 311

Khabib Nurmagomedov Already Stressed Over Cornering Back-To-Back Title Fights at UFC 311January 18 is going to be a busy night for Khabib Nurmagomedov. On Wednesday, Dana White announced that the…

Khabib Nurmagomedov Already Stressed Over Cornering Back-To-Back Title Fights at UFC 311

January 18 is going to be a busy night for Khabib Nurmagomedov.

On Wednesday, Dana White announced that the promotion’s first pay-per-view of the new year will be headlined by a lightweight title clash between reigning and defending champion Islam Makhachev and the division’s top-ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan.

On top of that, Merab Dvalishvili will make his first defense of the bantamweight crown when he meets undefeated sensation Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event.

Those two title fights join the already-announced light heavyweight banger between former titleholders Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka.

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Considering that both Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov are famously a part of Khabib’s team in Dagestan, the UFC Hall of Famer is already stressing about having to corner his fighters in back-to-back championship bouts next month.

“I think it’s never happened before, or hasn’t happened until now,” Nurmagomedov wrote in a translated post on his Instagram story. “What a night is waiting for me, I hope I’ll survive.”

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Can Khabib Nurmagomedov go 2-0 in title fights at UFC 311?

For Islam Makhachev, it will be his third time putting his 155-pound crown on the line after securing two straight wins over Alexander Volkanovski before submitting Dustin Poirier in the fifth round of their UFC 302 main event in June.

Makhachev’s fight with Tsarukyan will be the second-ever meeting between the two. The first came back in 2019 when Makahchev defeated ‘Ahalkalakets’ via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 7. Since then, Tsarukyan has gone 9-1 inside the Octagon, his only other loss coming against Mateusz Gamrot. Tsarukyan earned his spot at the top of the lightweight ladder via a quartet of wins, including Ws against Beneil Dariush and ex-champion Charles Oliveira.

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Meanwhile, Umar Nurmagomedov — the cousin of Khabib — will compete in his first title fight at UFC 311. Despite being a perfect 18-0 in his mixed martial arts career with six of those victories coming inside the Octagon, Nurmagomedov is sorely lacking any noteworthy wins outside of a dominant performance against Cory Sandhagen in August that skyrocketed him toward the top of the rankings.

Before that, his UFC wins came against Sergey Morozov, Brian Kelleher, Nate Maness, Raoni Barcelos, and Bekzat Almakhan. Still, Nurmagomedov opened as a 2-to-1 favorite to defeat Dvalishvili and bring the bantamweight belt back home to Russia.

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Sean O’Malley Slams Merab Dvalishvili Pushing For Petr Yan Rematch: ‘Sh*tting Himself Terrified Of Umar’

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September. Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds. In attendance was Umar […]

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September.

Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds.

In attendance was Umar Nurmagomedov, the consensus number one contender who staked his claim for a shot against the Noche UFC main event winner when he defeated Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi the previous month.

But the Dagestani hasn’t been getting a positive response from the champ ever since, with “The Machine” instead first branding Deiveson Figueiredo a more worthy challenger before pitching dates to run it back with both O’Malley and Petr Yan.

The latter caught Dvalishvili’s attention when he outpointed Figueiredo in this past weekend’s UFC Macau main event. The Georgian has called for “No Mercy” to be the opponent in his first defense at UFC 313 next March.

During a recent episode of his TimboSugarShow alongside coach Tim Welch, O’Malley joined plenty in calling out Dvalishvili’s push to once again face Yan, whom he convincingly defeated across five rounds in March 2023.

“Sugar” echoed the sentiments of Nurmagomedov himself, branding the newly crowned bantamweight kingpin “terrified” of him.

“Umar wants to fight Merab in January. Petr wants to fight Merab in March. I want to fight Merab in April,” O’Malley said. “Merab is absolutely sh*tting himself terrified of Umar. He doesn’t want to fight Umar. Now he’s saying he wants to fight Petr. He wanted to fight me. Petr got 50-45’d to Merab.”

It remains to be seen whether or not Nurmagomedov will indeed get his shot next. Be it a title opportunity or clash against another contender, the Dagestani has insisted on a return to action before he observes Ramadan in 2025.

O’Malley, meanwhile, has made his intentions of pursuing redemption against Dvalishvili upon his recovery from labrum surgery next year clear.

For now, though, the Georgian continues to campaign for a second dance opposite Yan.

Sean O’Malley Slams Merab Dvalishvili Pushing For Petr Yan Rematch: ‘Sh*tting Himself Terrified Of Umar’

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September. Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds. In attendance was Umar […]

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September.

Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds.

In attendance was Umar Nurmagomedov, the consensus number one contender who staked his claim for a shot against the Noche UFC main event winner when he defeated Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi the previous month.

But the Dagestani hasn’t been getting a positive response from the champ ever since, with “The Machine” instead first branding Deiveson Figueiredo a more worthy challenger before pitching dates to run it back with both O’Malley and Petr Yan.

The latter caught Dvalishvili’s attention when he outpointed Figueiredo in this past weekend’s UFC Macau main event. The Georgian has called for “No Mercy” to be the opponent in his first defense at UFC 313 next March.

During a recent episode of his TimboSugarShow alongside coach Tim Welch, O’Malley joined plenty in calling out Dvalishvili’s push to once again face Yan, whom he convincingly defeated across five rounds in March 2023.

“Sugar” echoed the sentiments of Nurmagomedov himself, branding the newly crowned bantamweight kingpin “terrified” of him.

“Umar wants to fight Merab in January. Petr wants to fight Merab in March. I want to fight Merab in April,” O’Malley said. “Merab is absolutely sh*tting himself terrified of Umar. He doesn’t want to fight Umar. Now he’s saying he wants to fight Petr. He wanted to fight me. Petr got 50-45’d to Merab.”

It remains to be seen whether or not Nurmagomedov will indeed get his shot next. Be it a title opportunity or clash against another contender, the Dagestani has insisted on a return to action before he observes Ramadan in 2025.

O’Malley, meanwhile, has made his intentions of pursuing redemption against Dvalishvili upon his recovery from labrum surgery next year clear.

For now, though, the Georgian continues to campaign for a second dance opposite Yan.

Sean O’Malley Slams Merab Dvalishvili Pushing For Petr Yan Rematch: ‘Sh*tting Himself Terrified Of Umar’

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September. Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds. In attendance was Umar […]

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September.

Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds.

In attendance was Umar Nurmagomedov, the consensus number one contender who staked his claim for a shot against the Noche UFC main event winner when he defeated Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi the previous month.

But the Dagestani hasn’t been getting a positive response from the champ ever since, with “The Machine” instead first branding Deiveson Figueiredo a more worthy challenger before pitching dates to run it back with both O’Malley and Petr Yan.

The latter caught Dvalishvili’s attention when he outpointed Figueiredo in this past weekend’s UFC Macau main event. The Georgian has called for “No Mercy” to be the opponent in his first defense at UFC 313 next March.

During a recent episode of his TimboSugarShow alongside coach Tim Welch, O’Malley joined plenty in calling out Dvalishvili’s push to once again face Yan, whom he convincingly defeated across five rounds in March 2023.

“Sugar” echoed the sentiments of Nurmagomedov himself, branding the newly crowned bantamweight kingpin “terrified” of him.

“Umar wants to fight Merab in January. Petr wants to fight Merab in March. I want to fight Merab in April,” O’Malley said. “Merab is absolutely sh*tting himself terrified of Umar. He doesn’t want to fight Umar. Now he’s saying he wants to fight Petr. He wanted to fight me. Petr got 50-45’d to Merab.”

It remains to be seen whether or not Nurmagomedov will indeed get his shot next. Be it a title opportunity or clash against another contender, the Dagestani has insisted on a return to action before he observes Ramadan in 2025.

O’Malley, meanwhile, has made his intentions of pursuing redemption against Dvalishvili upon his recovery from labrum surgery next year clear.

For now, though, the Georgian continues to campaign for a second dance opposite Yan.

Petr Yan: Nurmagomedov Not A Worthy Challenger, UFC Macau Main Event Is ‘No. 1 Contender’s Fight’ 

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan believes a victory this weekend should put him above Umar Nurmagomedov in the pecking order. Yan is set to headline Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Macau, as the promotion returns to the region for the first time in a decade. Inside the Galaxy Arena, “No Mercy” will do battle […]

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan believes a victory this weekend should put him above Umar Nurmagomedov in the pecking order.

Yan is set to headline Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Macau, as the promotion returns to the region for the first time in a decade. Inside the Galaxy Arena, “No Mercy” will do battle with ex-flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo.

For Yan, the upcoming event marks the opportunity for him to secure a first win streak since he captured the 135-pound crown at the expense of José Aldo in 2020. He subsequently went on a difficult 1-4 run before bouncing back against Song Yadong at UFC 299 this past March.

Figueiredo, meanwhile, has enjoyed a perfect start to life as bantamweight, winning all three of his fights to date and most recently getting past Marlon “Chito” Vera in comfortable fashion.

That result left newly crowned champ Merab Dvalishvili branding “Deus Da Guerra” a more worthy first challenger to his reign than the consensus number one contender, Dagestan’s Nurmagomedov.

And during an interview with the UFC ahead of his clash with Figueiredo in the “Las Vegas of the East,” Yan suggested that the Georgian’s stance — which he agrees with — could pave the way for his second dance with “The Machine” in 2025.

“Deiveson is a former champ, and also Merab has been saying that he’s the only real deserving challenger for his belt,” Yan said through an interpreter. “So for me, it’s a good opportunity for me to get this position, to beat him and challenge for the belt instead of him.

“I believe this is a No. 1 contender’s fight,” Yan continued. “Merab is currently champ, but I believe that he’s not ready to defend his title just yet, especially against Umar. It seems like he is avoiding him. Also, Umar, I believe he maybe needs a couple of good wins too. So, with a win over Deiveson, I believe that I can get back into the title picture and challenge for the belt again.”

Yan fell to a three-fight losing skid in March 2023 when he was handily defeated across five rounds by Dvalishvili. But should he stall Figueiredo’s two-division ambitions in Macau this week, “No Mercy” is hoping to have the chance for redemption.

Nurmagomedov would no doubt have something to say about that, however. He’s been widely branded next in line for a shot at the gold ever since he outpointed the highly regarded Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi this past August.

Cory Sandhagen Believes Overestimating Umar Nurmagomedov’s Wrestling Cost Him

In his return to action in Abu Dhabi this past August, Cory Sandhagen’s three-fight winning streak came to an end. “The Sandman” has been one of the top contenders at bantamweight for a long time but in his latest outing, a new major threat emerged with his biggest win to date. The undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov […]

In his return to action in Abu Dhabi this past August, Cory Sandhagen’s three-fight winning streak came to an end. “The Sandman” has been one of the top contenders at bantamweight for a long time but in his latest outing, a new major threat emerged with his biggest win to date.

The undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov was able to skyrocket up the 135-pound rankings by decisively beating Sandhagen in the main event on August 3. The cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov showed that he isn’t just a threat on the ground by standing and striking with his opponent for long stretches in the fight.

During a recent appearance on the JAXXON Podcast, he recapped the fight and where he believes he went wrong in his preparations. Sandhagen was able to compete with Nurmagomedov in the grappling exchanges after putting a lot of time into his wrestling throughout his training camp.

However, as a result, he encountered a problem that many fighters have when going up against a wrestling specialist. In his opinion, he became so focused on this aspect of the fight that it negatively impacted his striking which is where you’d imagine him to hold an advantage in this match-up.

He found that grappling with his opponent wasn’t the issue that he had, taking advantage of the time they spent standing was. Sandhagen was happy to learn from this fight but admitted that the narrative surrounding his opponent’s dominant grappling played a major factor inside the Octagon.

“I grappled a ton, I was wrestling a lot. Just the normal s*** man like I really thought that I would have a little bit more of a edge in the striking but should have done a little bit more striking and a little bit less wrestling because the wrestling, I kind of overestimated him big time on that. Everyone talks about how strong the Dagestani guys are and stuff and I had a little bit of that swirling around in my head so I overdid that I think a little bit.”