A fighter puts years of dedication into becoming an athlete in the biggest MMA promotion. After putting in all the effort and doing everything right, if a fighter doesn’t get a fight, it becomes the most frustrating thing for him. To put it simply, it’s like an NBA player practicing rigorously and then just warming the bench. Now, as this is happening with the Dagestani fighter, Umar, cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov, he has grown tired of it and expressed his disappointment on social media.
Famous MMA athlete manager Ali Abdelaziz recently posted on X, once again asking fans for their preferences on who Umar should fight next. Given Abdelaziz’s persistent requests, “The Young Eagle” responded, stating that he was tired of hearing it. He also highlighted disappointment with both the fighters and the company for not being able to arrange the fight. In his words,
“Even me tired of hearing it.”
Even me tired of hearing it https://t.co/XqB3zqvVzM
— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv) January 23, 2024
It’s not the first time Abdelaziz talked about Umar not getting his next fight. Previously, he mentioned that despite UFC and Dana White’s efforts, no one is willing to step up as his opponent. Furthermore, he called out the entire Bantamweight division for being scared of Umar.
While he boasts a solid record of 16-0, mirroring his undefeated brother’s success in the UFC, with 9 finishes, Umar hasn’t fought inside the octagon for over a year. Despite his long-standing desire for a fight, no one in the division is stepping up to face him.
Many of the top 15 fighters are already booked for future matchups, with only a few names, including Rob Font, Cory Sandhagen, and Jonathan Martinez, yet to be scheduled. However, none of them are showing real interest in fighting him, causing significant frustration.
Dana White Shared Why No One Wants To Fight Cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov
Last May, when Aljamain Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo and claimed the bantamweight championship (later lost to Sean O’Malley), the UFC president was asked about Umar Nurmagomedov’s upcoming bantamweight fight at the post-fight presser. He shared that nobody wants to fight him and provided reasons why. He stated,
“That’s a guy (Umar) not everybody’s beating down the door to fight. So yeah, we’ll figure something out with him…it’s always hard when you have these guys who are in the top ten, when you start going, seven, six, five, four and then this guy’s behind them nobody wants to take that risk on a guy who isn’t ranked. It’s tough. Those are the fights that publically, everybody says they’ll take, but privately, nobody says they want to take them.”
As per White, Umar is the kind of fighter where opponents publicly claim they are ready to fight, but privately, fighters are hesitant about taking such risks due to the rankings.
Meanwhile, Umar is ranked 13th, and if he fought against No. 9 Rob Font, the opponent would risk their ranking, which would further make their case for the title shot.
Losing to a fighter like Umar will drop their ranking, so everyone is hesitant. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see when and who Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin will fight next.
