UFC fans will get a glimpse of coach Khabib Nurmagomedov yet again this weekend. The former UFC champion will be in the corner for his brother Umar Nurmagomedov’s fight against Cory Sandhagen.
This is Umar’s biggest fight to date as he will be headlining an event for the first time and taking on a ranked opponent in Sandhagen. Hence, the young fighter will need all the help he can get, and who better to get it from than the unbeaten former UFC champ?
In a recent interview with Mike Bohn for MMA Junkie, Umar was asked who might be in his corner for the fight, to which the fighter replied,
“It’s gonna be Usman (Nurmagomedov), Shamil Zavurov, Javier (Mendez), and Khabib (Nurmagomed0v)”
Although Islam Makhachev will not make it to Umar’s corner, other important members of the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) will present on the day. Moreover, one should note that not only is Khabib unbeaten as a fighter, but he is also unbeaten as a coach when he was in a fighter’s corner.
Well, if the bantamweight does end up beating Sandhagen, the UFC has big things in store for him in terms of his next fight.
Umar reveals the UFC has offered him the winner of O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili
Sean O’Malley will take on Merab Dvalishvili at the UFC Noche event in September with the title on the line.
With Umar fighting as early as next week, he might be ready for another bout at the end of the year, and it seems like the UFC has promised him a title shot. In the same interview with MMA Junkie, the Russian fighter spoke about what’s next for him, saying,
“They said I will fight whoever will win (between O’Malley and Merab).”
Umar Nurmagomedov says UFC has given title shot assurances if he beats Cory Sandhagen in the #UFCAbuDhabi headliner.
“They said I will fight whoever will win (between O’Malley and Merab).”
(via @MikeBohn) pic.twitter.com/FwX87Dd23N
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) July 30, 2024
Nurmagomedov is certain that the title shot is next for him if he can overcome ‘Sandman’. However, that is easier said than done, as Sandhagen does not show any signs of slowing down.
As for the American, a fight against the 10th-ranked Umar is not anything to worry about, and he will look to give it his all inside the octagon.
