Umar Nurmagomedov is looking to step up his competition. This weekend, he fought Bekzat Almakhan at UFC Vegas 87 in what was his 5th fight in the organization. Nurmagomedov faced trouble early in the first round of the fight. However, he went on to dominate his opponent and secure the win via a unanimous decision. Following his fight, he called out the likes of Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen and also accepted a fight on X.
After Umar’s call out, Sandhagen revealed in a recent interview that he was ready for the fight. Umar Nurmagomedov was quick to capitalize and accepted the challenge.
Umar is keen to fight again during the international fight week. When Cory Sandhagen accepted the fight against him, he had this to say:
“Let’s go”
‘The Sandman’ has not fought since August 2023 and is currently on a three-fight winning streak. A fight between him and Umar Nurmagomedov is just what the doctor ordered. An up-and-coming challenger in the division pitted against one of the biggest threats in the division. Nurmagomedov will finally get to test himself against some top opposition.
His call-out was a bit of a shock because he named two of the biggest threats in the division. Following his win, he called out Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen.
Umar Nurmagomedov is confident he can beat Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen
During his post-fight press conference, Umar Nurmagomedov was oozing confidence. The Dagestani fighter called out his next opponents in front of the media.
When asked about his next fight, he revealed that he has two names on his mind. He was also very confident that he would beat both of them.
“I can smash and I can finish Petr Yan. I’m serious. When I talk about Cory Sandhagen, that I can finish him, I’m serious. Not because I’m cocky or something like that.”
Umar Nurmagomedov went on to say that he was not being over-ambitious. He is only this confident because of the team that he has and credits them for his success. He went on to state that no other team has multiple lightweight champions like his team. This is the reason he is so confident in his abilities inside the octagon.
With Cory Sandhagen accepting the fight verbally, it will be interesting to see if the UFC set the pair up for a fight during International Fight Week.
