Umar Nurmagomedov and his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov. Photo via Instagram (@umarnurmagomedov)
Undefeated UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov, cousin of former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, is tired of hearing that he has a habit of pulling out of fights.
At the recent UFC post-fight press conference he addressed the topic after dominating Bekzat Almakhan to win via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-26).
“Everybody talks about my pullouts,” Nurmagomedov said. “Sean [O’Malley’s] coach and some different guys.”
“First time I injured my knee, second time I injured my shoulder because I’m not healthy like a robot. I can break too. That’s why I want to fight everything [in] three months. I want to be active. It doesn’t depend on me, but when you’re injured, what are you going to do?”
“I can smash and I can finish Petr Yan”
The 28-year-old bantamweight contender claimed he wanted to stay active, and with a 17-0 record and a No. 10 spot on the UFC rankings, he could very well fight for the title soon. However, as the bantamweight division is as stacked as it gets, he knows that he might need to face a couple of top dogs before he gets the chance to compete for the gold.
“I know other guys, what they’re doing. I know my team. The way I’m talking, I can smash and I can finish Petr Yan. I’m serious. I can do this. When I talk about Cory Sandhagen and I can finish him, I’m serious.”
After this past weekend’s win, Nurmagomedov entered the top 10 in the bantamweight rankings. Check it out below!
Champion: Sean O’Malley
1 Merab Dvalishvili
2 Aljamain Sterling
3 Cory Sandhagen
4 Petr Yan
5 Marlon Vera
6 Henry Cejudo
7 Song Yadong
8 Deiveson Figueiredo
9 Rob Font
10 Umar Nurmagomedov +3
11 Jonathan Martinez -1
12 Dominick Cruz -1
13 Pedro Munhoz -1
14 Mario Bautista
15 Ricky Simon