Tag: Umar Nurmagomedov

With Umar Nurmagomedov-Eduardo Dantas off, ADXC 6 lands Muhammad Mokaev-Raul Rosas Jr. main event

Umar Nurmagomedov no longer will headline ADXC 6 next week in Abu Dhabi.

(This story was updated to add new information and to correct a misspelling/typo.)

[autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] no longer will headline ADXC 6 next week in Abu Dhabi.

The UFC bantamweight standout was set to grapple former Bellator champion [autotag]Eduardo Dantas[/autotag] in a no-gi featherweight match Oct. 25 at Mubadala Arena. The event takes place one day before UFC 308 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, which is headlined by a featherweight title fight between champion Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway.

But Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) has been pulled from the event, a person with knowledge of the move told MMA Junkie on Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because ADXC has not yet made the change official.

No official reason was given for Nurmagomedov’s removal from the event, but in recent weeks rumors about his next UFC fight have ramped up. Although he is gunning for a shot at new champion Merab Dvalishvili, who won the belt from Sean O’Malley at UFC 306, Nurmagomedov also has been linked to a main event in Tampa, Fla., in December against Song Yadong.

Nurmagomedov is fresh off a main event win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ABC 7 in August in Abu Dhabi. The undefeated 28-year-old emerged as a title contender and was expected to be Dvalishvili’s first attempted title defense, though the champ reportedly is not yet ready to fight.

Dantas, a two-time Bellator champion, is a second degree jiu-jitsu black belt with seven wins by submission. The 35-year-old Brazilian’s most recent appearance in MMA came in May 2023 – a decision loss to Denis Lavrentyev at RCC 15.

Appropriately timed, reports of a new grappling matchup for the event surfaced Friday with former UFC flyweight standout Muhammad Mokaev against UFC young rising star Raul Rosas Jr., which certainly will take some of the sting off losing Nurmagomedov from the event for fans. The promotion then made it official.

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Sean O’Malley thinks UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili is ‘actually terrified’ of Umar Nurmagomedov

Sean O’Malley thinks UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili wants no part of Umar Nurmagomedov.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] believes UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] wants no part of [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag].

Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) emerged as No. 1 contender after outlasting Cory Sandhagen in the UFC on ABC 7 main event in August. A month later, Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) dethroned O’Malley to become bantamweight champion at UFC 306.

O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is convinced he was robbed against Dvalishvili and called for a rematch – something Dvalishvili is willing to entertain. Nurmagomedov is convinced Dvalishvili is ducking him, and O’Malley agrees. He sees it as an opportunity to slide into the title fight after recovering from hip surgery.

“Merab vs. Umar, why is this not being announced?,” O’Malley said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “Why aren’t they fighting in November? Why aren’t they fighting in December? I think January is – wasn’t January Islam (Makhachev)? I mean, I don’t know. Umar said that he’s down to take a fight that’s not Merab if Merab wants to wait blah, blah, blah.

“So I’m here, I’m ready to – well, not ready to go yet. I’ll be ready. He would prefer me. I think he’s actually terrified of Umar if I’m being honest. Not trying to troll, not trying to be goofy, I think Merab’s scared of Umar and would rather fight me. He would probably look at me as an easier fight. So yeah, I think he would pick that if he could.”

O’Malley is hoping to return in the first quarter of 2024 after undergoing surgery for a torn left labrum earlier this month.

“I’m saying March or April,” O’Malley said. “I’m doing everything I can do to get back in there. My mindset, my ambition, my drive, everything is at an all-time high. I want to get back in the gym. I want to get back to work. I want to get back on the mats. I want to make that walk again, and I want Merab next.

“I know I’m better than him. I need to right that wrong. I think Miami would just be sweet. That’s where I got to prove to everyone – for three-and-a-half years, I kept saying, ‘I’m better than ‘Chito’ (Vera), I’m better than ‘Chito.’ That was bullsh*t,’ and Miami, this year, I got to prove that. So, I would like to go back to Miami and prove that once again. Rematch Merab, that’s what I want.”

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Umar Nurmagomedov: UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili delaying title fight shows he’s ‘scared’

Umar Nurmagomedov is convinced Merab Dvalishvili is ducking him.

[autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] is convinced [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] is ducking him.

Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) claimed the No. 1 contender spot when he defeated Cory Sandhagen in his first UFC headliner in August. One month later, Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) dethroned Sean O’Malley to become bantamweight champion at UFC 306.

Dvalishvili has been dismissing Nurmagomedov as a rightful contender since prior to even winning the title. Nurmagomedov thinks Dvalishvili refusing to acknowledge him is not a good look, and claims Dvalishvili is purposely trying to push for March – where Nurmagomedov won’t compete because of Ramadan.

“Merab is trying to avoid my name, trying to tell me that I don’t deserve (a title shot),” Nurmagomedov told Kevin Iole. “Even if the UFC will ask him to fight me or someone else, I think he will choose someone else 100 times. He’s playing games. They know that I will not fight in Ramadan and they’re telling us we’re going to fight in March. March is all Ramadan.

“It’s looking very bad. It’s looking like he’s trying to avoid (me), like he is scared. I don’t understand how the champion is trying to avoid, but if they won’t fight with me, I don’t want to wait. Summer: June, July, May – I want to fight now. I want to fight after two months, before Ramadan, and I want to be active, and we’ll see what’s going to happen.”

Nurmagomedov’s patience is running thin. He has already opted to remain active by booking a grappling match Oct. 25 at ADXC 7, and is even contemplating taking another fight if Dvalishvili won’t fight him before Ramadan.

“I want to be active, and I want to fight before Ramadan,” Nurmagomedov said. “Maybe January or December it’s going to be a good time for me and then after Ramadan, we’ll see. Maybe Merab fights someone else and maybe he will lose, who knows.”

Nurmagomedov says he knew Dvalishvili would win the title if O’Malley couldn’t catch him.

“They’re both not very good,” Nurmagomedov said. “O’Malley’s a bum in MMA. He doesn’t have any grappling. He doesn’t have any wrestling, and he didn’t even try to fight him. He’s just waiting, he’s just running and he fights like a bum. Merab – he’s good. With Merab, you have to go ahead and fight. You can’t beat him when you’re running from him.”

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Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Eduardo Dantas headlines ADXC 7 grappling match

Umar Nurmagomedov will keep himself busy before getting his desired UFC title shot.

[autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] will keep himself busy before getting his desired UFC title shot.

Nurmagomedov faces [autotag]Eduardo Dantas[/autotag] in a no-gi featherweight grappling match, which headlines ADXC 7 on Oct. 25 at Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, promotion officials announced Monday.

The event takes place one day before UFC 308 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, which is headlined by a featherweight title fight between champion Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway.

Nurmagomedov is fresh off a main event win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ABC 7 this past August in Abu Dhabi. The undefeated 28-year-old emerged as a title contender and is expected to be newly crowned bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili’s first attempted title defense.

Dantas, a former two-time Bellator champion, is a second degree jiu-jitsu black belt with seven wins by submission. The 35-year-old Brazilian’s most recent appearance in MMA came in May 2023, where he suffered a decision loss to Denis Lavrentyev at RCC 15.

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New champ Merab Dvalishvili offers Sean O’Malley rematch at UFC 309, Umar has a response

If Sean O’Malley wants a chance to get the bantamweight title back, the new champ says he can have it.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

If [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] wants a chance to get the bantamweight title back, the new champ says he can have it.

[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) outworked O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) for a unanimous decision in the UFC 306 main event a little less than two weeks ago at Sphere in Las Vegas. The bout was O’Malley’s second attempted title defense. He beat Aljamain Sterling to win the belt in August 2023, then beat Marlon Vera in March in his first defense.

While the fight with Dvalishvili appeared reasonably close on paper – Dvalishvili picked up a 49-46 score from one judge and 48-47s from two others – the fact remains no media outlets scoring the fight, as tracked by MMA Decisions, had it for O’Malley. A handful had 48-47 scores, but most had it 49-46 or 50-45 for Dvalishvili by a factor of about 2-to-1.

Still, O’Malley, on his YouTube podcast, said it’s his contention he won Rounds 1, 3 and 5 – and that the commentary helped create a bias among fans and pundits that he got his “ass whooped.” “I’m the champ. I won. Go rewatch that fight,” he said.

So if that’s the case, Dvalishvili said he’s down with a response on social media and even offered up a suggestion of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York in November.

“I hear O’Malley thinks he won the fight and is looking for a rematch,” Dvalishvili poster. “If he wants it he can have it. Let’s do it November 16th at the Garden and then I’ll still defend the title against whoever the UFC wants me to fight next. What do you think? @SugaSeanMMA”

O’Malley said there was “no debate” he lost Rounds 2 and 4, “100 percent,” but not the other three rounds.

Dvalishvili critics have started to surmise that the only reason he’s offering O’Malley a rematch is because he knows it’s not a viable option for his first title defense, and that it’s possible he’s ducking [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag].

Nurmagomedov seems to think that’s the case.

O’Malley is scheduled to have hip surgery next week and will be out for what is expected to be, at minimum, six months – but perhaps as long as a year. The hip injury reportedly was one he suffered in camp.

Later on social media, O’Malley took his turn to chime in and maintained his stance that he won three rounds.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.

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Ali Abdelaziz: Umar Nurmagomedov will become UFC champion then give Sean O’Malley a title shot

Ali Abdelaziz still considers Sean O’Malley the biggest fight in the UFC bantamweight division.

Ali Abdelaziz thinks [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] is still the biggest fight in the bantamweight division.

O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) lost his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision in Saturday’s UFC 306 main event. It was later revealed that he tore his labrum 10 weeks out from the fight and is set to undergo surgery on Oct. 3.

Despite Dvalishvili’s reluctance, Abdelaziz expects his fighter [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) to get the next title shot. If victorious, Abdelaziz wants to see Nurmagomedov fight O’Malley in his first title defense, even though O’Malley would be coming off a lopsided title loss.

“I would like Sean O’Malley to do this: Take as much time as he wants off, and I believe Umar will beat Merab, and after that, Umar will give him a title shot coming off a loss,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “I think Sean O’Malley is one of the biggest stars in the sport. This is a business about making money, and I think Sean O’Malley deserves a title shot coming off a loss.

“Do you know why? Because Sean O’Malley makes everyone in the division money. Not Merab. It’s not Umar yet. Umar will be, though, because Umar has two billion people behind his back. He will be the second Khabib (Nurmagomedov). He doesn’t talk much. He needs to trash talk a little bit more like Khabib did, but Umar is special.”

Abdelaziz clarified that Nurmagomedov will fight whomever the UFC offers but argued that a fight with O’Malley would draw the biggest audience in the division.

“Umar will fight anybody, can be Petr Yan or Figueiredo, but this is about making money. And Sean O’Malley – nobody gave a sh*t about the bantamweight division before,” Abdelaziz added. “You have to give him credit. I don’t know Sean O’Malley, we’re not friends, I don’t have pink hair, but the guy brought a lot of hype for the division.

“How you don’t give this guy a title shot coming from a loss? Who cares. They (UFC) gave Frankie Edgar a title shot coming off a loss, they gave Izzy (Adesanya) a title shot coming off a loss. … This is about hype, about business, about making money. Listen, Figueiredo and Merab, nobody gives a sh*t. Petr Yan and Merab, nobody cares. Umar and Merab, people care. Umar and Sean O’Malley, people care.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.

Demetrious Johnson: UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili’s conditioning will be X-factor vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

Demetrious Johnson sees UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili having a major advantage over Umar Nurmagomedov.

[autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] sees UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] having a major advantage over [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag].

Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) defeated Sean O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in a dominant decision win to claim the bantamweight title in Saturday’s UFC 306 main event at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is waiting in the wings for his title shot, but Dvalishvili is not sold on him being No. 1 contender. However, if Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov do end up fighting, Johnson thinks Dvalishvili’s gas tank will give him an edge.

“This is going to be interesting because I feel his conditioning is going to be the X-factor because we know he’s not going to stop,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “He’s going to be a busy bee around the octagon to where this gentleman (Nurmagomedov) has the high kicks, he’s very long, he’s very big, and he also has the wrestling.

“But he does not have the work ethic like this man (Dvalishvili). Not saying he doesn’t have the work ethic, he doesn’t have just that, ‘I’m coming to smash you, I’m coming to smother you,’ like Khabib. This man (Dvalishvili) has that bear gene where he just comes and gets you, where he’s (Nurmagomedov) more strategic.”

Nurmagomedov competed in his first main event at UFC on ABC 7 in August, when he outlasted Cory Sandhagen in what was dubbed as a title eliminator.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.

Kamaru Usman urges UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili to embrace Umar Nurmagomedov challenge

Kamaru Usman thinks Umar Nurmagomedov is the perfect opponent to elevate UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili’s profile.

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] believes [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] is the perfect opponent to elevate UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]’s profile.

Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) dethroned Sean O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) to claim the bantamweight title in a dominant decision win in Saturday’s UFC 306 headliner at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Even though the camera panned to Nurmagomedov during his post-fight octagon interview, Dvalishvili refused to acknowledge him. He insists Deiveson Figueiredo is the more worthy contender.

Usman pointed to his rivalry with Colby Covington, which brought out the best of him. He thinks Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) could do the same for Dvalishvili.

“Merab is not afraid, but I know he’s worried about a guy like Umar, and sometimes those are the guys that really put you on that next level,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo. “Merab might come out there and look like freaking the best we’ve ever seen.

“So I needed that dance partner. Colby Covington gave me that, and so that’s what Merab – at this point, I think if I had any advice for Merab, it’s to embrace that. It’s to embrace that. You’re right. When they did ask him that question, he kind of danced around it.”

Henry Cejudo suggests Nurmagomedov is bad news for Dvalishvili.

“Merab knows. Merab has a respect for Umar, and I personally just think he’s in trouble,” Cejudo said. “With all due respect, I respect the fact that one, he beat me, and then two, that he came on our show. But if you don’t fight a guy like Umar, the UFC is going to make you fight a guy like Umar. Your career as a champ is pretty much done.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.

Javier Mendez finds it ‘weird’ that Merab Dvalishvili refuses to acknowledge Umar Nurmagomedov as No. 1 contender

Javier Mendez is confused why Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t want to fight Umar Nurmagomedov.

[autotag]Javier Mendez[/autotag] is confused why [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] doesn’t want to fight [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag].

Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) dethroned Sean O’Malley with a dominant decision win to claim the bantamweight title in Saturday’s UFC 306 headliner at Sphere in Las Vegas. In the post-fight news conference, Dvalishvili insisted that Deiveson Figueiredo is a more worthy challenger than Nurmagomedov.

Mendez doesn’t want to accuse Dvalishvili of being scared of Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), but says he should fight whoever the UFC declares as No. 1 contender.

“I don’t know what the hell to think because how can you say the other person is more deserving when the ranking put Umar as No. 2?” Mendez told Submission Radio. “And they also promised Umar the fight or whoever the winner was going to be between Sandhagen and Umar that they would get the next title shot. The UFC is coming through with their with their promise and that’s what they’re trying to put together.

“Why Merab is trying to maybe avoid him – I don’t know if he is or isn’t. I really don’t know. It’s weird. My fighters, what I tell them is, when you’re the champion, you just get ready to fight whoever they put in front of you, you fight. If you’re not a real champion, then fine – pick who you want to pick. But if you’re the real champion, you fight. The only thing you should be able to choose is the dates.”

Mendez admits he initially hoped Nurmagomedov would have fought bigger star O’Malley for the title. The American Kickboxing Academy head coach also thinks Nurmagomedov would have done more damage on the ground to O’Malley than Dvalishvili did.

“It would have played out different,” Mendez said. “It wouldn’t have been the same. Sure, on the ground, it would have been bad for O’Malley, but he might have got finished on the ground with Umar, had Umar been able to take him to the ground. More than likely, I think, based on what I saw, if had it been Umar on the ground on him like that, Umar is more of a submission specialist than Merab is.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.

UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili insists Deiveson Figueiredo more worthy challenger than Umar Nurmagomedov

Merab Dvalishvili’s stance on Umar Nurmagomedov remains the same.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]’s stance on [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] remains the same.

Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) claimed the bantamweight title with a dominant decision over Sean O’Malley in Saturday’s UFC 306 main event at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Nurmagomedov was in attendance for the fight, and was waiting for Dvalishvili to call his name in his post-fight octagon interview, but to no avail. Dvalishvili was later asked who he’d like to face next and he doubled down on wanting [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (24-3-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC).

“Whoever they want, I will fight next, but I want to talk to Dana (White) more close – I want to become his friend,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference Saturday. “I want to fight the top of the top, you know.

“I think Figueiredo would be my fifth champion on my list. He is more dangerous, knockout power, good jiu-jitsu, makes people sleep. Coming from three straight wins, top guys, that’s why this fight excites me, makes me motivated, makes me work hard.”

As for Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), Dvalishvili suggested he fight Petr Yan for a No. 1 contender spot, as he thinks one win over a top-ranked contender isn’t enough.

“Umar is OK, but I’m telling you guys, from the top 15 he’s only won one fight and that was Cory Sandhagen. We all saw what Aljamain Sterling did against Cory Sandhagen, made him sleep in first round. I respect Cory Sandhagen, but yeah.”

Nurmagomedov reacted to Dvalishvili’s win on “X.”

“I expected more from Sean, Merab did his job well. I hope he won’t avoid the real challenger. In any case, I’m ready.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.