Fight news is coming soon for Umar Nurmagomedov.
Cousin of the legendary lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov, the #2-ranked UFC Bantamweight contender fell just short of the world title in his fight against champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 in January.
The undefeated Nurmagomedov gave Dvalishvili one of the toughest challenges of his career, winning the first two rounds of their title fight. However, being the cardio machine that he is, Dvalishvili was able to catch up to Nurmagomedov in the championship rounds and handed him his first pro loss by unanimous decision.
Now 18-1, Nurmagomedov will look to bounce back as Dvalishvili has laid out what he needs to do for a potential rematch.
Khabib Nurmagomedov confirms Umar Nurmagomedov’s next fight will be UFC main event
Taking to his Instagram, Khabib Nurmagomedov teased his cousin’s next fight will be in a UFC headliner.
“Main fight of the evening,” Nurmagomedov tagged Umar on his Instagram story on Friday.
“5 rounds…
“It’s time to come back jr,” the retired champion added.
That would be three straight main events for Nurmagomedov, who’s gone 10 rounds with the next bantamweight title fight between Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen.
Who will Umar Nurmagomedov fight next?
There are a few fights that would make sense for Nurmagomedov at this stage of his career.
Coming off a title fight loss, Nurmagomedov could potentially be matched up with #5-ranked contender Song Yadong. There were talks of Nurmagomedov fighting Song before Dvalishvili, but the UFC ultimately went a different direction.
Song has some of the best takedown defense in the bantamweight division, making him an interesting style matchup for Nurmagomedov.
The #8-ranked Mario Bautista also might be closing in on a top-5 fight soon, as he’s defeated the likes of former champions Jose Aldo and Patchy Mix.
Time will tell who Nurmagomedov will return against.