"They can't run forever" - Umar Nurmagomedov cites examples of cousin Khabib and Islam Makhachev to put entire UFC bantamweight division on notice
UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov wants to replicate his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov and teammate Islam Makhachev's championship success in the UFC.
The No.13-ranked bantamweight tweeted out a warning to the rest of the division:
"They ran from Khabib, they ran from Islam but they can’t run forever from me"
Check out his tweet below:
They ran from Khabib, they ran from Islam but they can’t run forever from me
Nurmagomedov is unbeaten in his mixed martial arts career after 15 professional fights. Prior to signing with the UFC, he was the bantamweight champion at the Gorilla Fighting Championship, now renamed the Eagle Fighting Championship.
Three fights into his UFC career, he has impressed with two rear-naked choke submission finishes in his first two bouts. His debut against Sergey Morozov earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.
His last fight, a unanimous decision win against Nathan Maness, helped him break into the top 15 in the bantamweight rankings.
His circumstances are very similar to Islam Makhachev, who languished at the lower end of the lightweight rankings before finally matching up against higher-ranked opponents who were willing to fight him.
Although Makhachev has only fought four of the top 15 UFC lightweights, he is the champion of the division and has scaled the summit within a few fights, including becoming the No.3-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.
Nurmagomedov's next fight is yet to be announced, but he will be hoping for a matchup against a higher-ranked opponent to push his case for contention.
Islam Makhachev proves Michael Chandler and his "haters" wrong
Islam Makhachev laid all the doubts surrounding his fighting pedigree to rest with his dominant victory over former champion Charles Oliveira.
No.5-ranked contender Michael Chandler, who previously favored Oliveira and opined that Makhachev had not shown enough to be considered a challenger, has now changed his stance on the Dagestani lightweight. In an interview with MMA on Point, Chandler said:
“Islam is the real deal. I think when I was asked before about it, my answer, I stand behind it. Islam hadn’t fought anybody in that top five. Islam came out there and showed that he was a force to be reckoned with on the feet, obviously a force to be reckoned with on the ground, and caught Charles in that choke, and we have a new champion, and his name is Islam. Islam proved that he was who he said he was. I stand corrected. He’s our champion.”
Check out Chandler's full interview with MMA on Point:
Islam Makhachev also took to Instagram to call out his "haters" who have gone quiet since his victory at UFC 280.