With two weeks remaining for the long-awaited UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, the hype around the epic PPV event is through the roof. In the wake of the bantamweight main event title fight between Sean O’Malley & Merab Dvalishvili, something tickled the curiosity of UFC veteran Daniel Cormier.
DC was curious to know who the backfighter was for the September 14 135-lb showdown, and the American, in his latest video, confirmed that it wasn’t the #2 ranked Umar Nurmagomedov. In fact, he revealed why the Russian didn’t step up and be the backup.
“I was with Umar Nurmagomedov the other day. I go, why don’t you or why didn’t you just say that I’ll be the backup fighter for Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili? He goes, ‘Why could I be the backup fighter when I’m already the best in the world? That’s his thought, that’s his belief. So, he is not going to be the backup guy.”
28-year-old Umar Nurmagomedov is now ‘the’ hot prospect to watch out for in the bantamweight category, especially after his spectacular win against former title challenger Cory Sandhagen.
When asked why he didn’t ask to be the backup, Umar simply said that he was already the best in the division, and it seemed illogical for him to remain just a backup fighter.
The Russian is next in line for the bantamweight title, considering that he has beaten most of the top-ranking fighters in the division except for a few names, already capturing the spotlight with his Abu Dhabi performance.
Meanwhile, O’Malley‘s coach, Tim Welch, dropped a prediction that his pupil could beat the undefeated Russian despite his formidable reputation.
‘Timbo’ confident in O’Malley against Umar – predicts a KO
‘Suga’ O’Malley has taken over the UFC after capturing the bantamweight belt from Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 last year. The Montana native successfully fended off Chito Vera in his title defense and is now defending his throne once again against ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili at UFC 306. And coach Welch is supremely confident in his fighter’s ability.
During a recent appearance in Red Corner MMA, Welch shared his thoughts on O’Malley’s potential fight against Umar. While he gave props to the Russian for his formidable wrestling and stinging strikes, he remained confident in ‘Suga’ and even predicted a KO during their fight. He said,
“He (Umar Nurmagomedov) is a serious problem for anyone. All those guys can grapple like freaks. Their wrestling is so good. He is a very good striker too. But I do still see holes. I see ways in which Sean can frustrate him and be faster than him and knock him out also…”
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Carrying an arsenal of strikes, Welch recognizes Umar’s striking game and praises him as a good striker, but Tim sees holes in his game and foresees O’Malley frustrating him until he knocks him out.
