Nurmagomedov and Deiveson Figueiredo shared the Octagon during UFC’s debut on Paramount+. The pivotal bantamweight fight ended in a unanimous victory for Nurmagomedov. Although it was another victory for Nurmagomedov, fans were not convinced he would get his next shot at bantamweight gold.
Nurmagomedov told reporters during the post-fight press conference of UFC 324 that his opponent was not involved (via MMAfighting).
“I expected it to be more difficult,” Nurmagomedov said in a post-fight scrum. “It was easier than my sparring partners. Even Manel Kape gave me more difficult times in the last month and ‘Tiger’ Magomed Magomedov. I try to do my best, I try to fight like a killer, I try to move forward, but if your opponent does not participate, it is a bit difficult to do anything. For example, to show a competitive fight.”
The No. 2-ranked Nurmagomedov isn’t sure he’ll beat Petr Yan for the 135-pound gold. He just wants to keep fighting.
“I don’t know what exactly is going to happen,” Nurmagomedov said. ‘I know one thing for sure: I will ask [for a] fight. Doesn’t matter for the title, doesn’t matter for revenge. It concerns one of the winners of this fight, [Song] or O’Malley, I don’t care. It really doesn’t matter to me. I just want to be active.”
Nurmagomedov is 2-0 since suffering the first loss of his professional MMA career against Merab Dvalishvili. Nurmagomedov rebounded with unanimous victories over Mario Bautista and Figueiredo.
Many believe it is likely that Dvalishvili will immediately get a rematch against Yan for the bantamweight gold. You can’t rule out Sean O’Malley, who defeated Song Yadong in his first win since his two losses to Dvalishvili. Nurmagomedov hopes his name is called for the next bantamweight title fight, but he will continue to fight if necessary.
Who do you think Umar Nurmagomedov will fight next? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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