Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Cousin Umar Wants to Get Past This Opponent Before Title Shot Against Sean O’Malley

Umar Nurmagomedov is one of the many frontrunners in the bantamweight division trying to secure a title shot. Champion Sean O’Malley recently defended his belt against Marlon Vera in what was an extremely clinical performance. Following the win, Dana White stated that Merab Dvalishvili would be next in line for the championship. Given that the fight is in the books, Umar Nurmagomedov believes that with one win, he can take on the winner of O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili.

Nurmagomedov recently shared his thoughts on the landscape at bantamweight in an interview with MMA Fighting. He also went on to break down a potential fight with Merab Dvalishvili. He said,

“It would make sense if he beats O’Malley. Right now we fight contender fight with Cory [Sandhagen]. If Merab will lose, he will never fight for the title again. He is 34-35, I don’t know how much time or how many years he has to fight for the win streak to fight for the title. But I want to fight with him, I don’t care. Him O’Malley, I don’t care I want to fight with everyone.”

Umar Nurmagomedov looks forward to a future matchup against Merab Dvalishvili:

“It would make sense if he beats [Sean] O’Malley. Right now we fight contender fight with Cory [Sandhagen].” pic.twitter.com/CQHbOGqoUh

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) March 14, 2024

Merab Dvalishvili is currently on a 10-fight win streak and is next in line for the title. In the interview, Nurmagomedov also assessed a potential matchup against Dvalishvili.

Umar, who is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin, felt that the two were evenly matched since they both have good wrestling and have a good striking as well. However, he stated that Dvalishvili is not a name that he is fixated on. For him, a title shot is the most important and the opponent standing opposite him in the cage does not matter.

Merab Dvalishvili’s advice to Umar Nuramgomedov

Umar Nurmagomedov was scheduled to fight Cory Sandhagen last year. However, an injury forced him out of the fight. Since then, Sandhagen has secured two wins and is currently on a three-fight win streak.

He is also ranked third in the bantamweight division. Following his recent win, Umar Nurmagomedov stated that he wanted the UFC to book him against Sandhagen once again. However, this is not an idea that Dvalishvili approves of.

 

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A post shared by Umar Nurmagomedov (@umar_nurmagomedov)

In a recent interview, ‘The Machine’ stated that Nurmagomedov should fight someone in the top 10 first before going for someone in the top five. Dvalishvili suggested names such as Mario Bautista before taking on Cory Sandhagen.

However, it appears as though Nurmagomedov has his eyes set on only one name. If the UFC were to book that fight and Nurmagomedov did emerge victorious, he would most likely get the next shot at the title.