Umar Nurmagomedov is one of the many Dagestani up-and-comers in MMA. He is an undefeated bantamweight, with a 16-0 record.
He is coming off a stunning KO victory over Raoni Barcelos at UFC on ESPN+ 75. With his four wins in the UFC in the past two years, Umar is now ranked 11th in the 135-pound division.
However, he seems to be having trouble finding a worthy opponent for his next outing.
His younger brother, Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov just spoke about his UFC standing. Usman said that the ranked competition is afraid of facing Umar.
Usman was talking to Red Corner MMA, where the host asked him when Umar was going to win a title. The champ replied by saying that Umar doesn’t have anyone willing to face him.
“For Umar, this is a little bit hard you know because no one wants to fight him…. everybody is scared….even now, he doesn’t have an opponent,” Usman told the interviewer.
He said that the UFC is trying hard to find someone to face Umar. But the top athletes in the division are constantly making excuses to avoid him.
“They’re trying to find an opponent but everybody say everybody says I have something like you know, [I’m] sick or [any] problem like this,”
“But I hope they find an opponent for him,”
Umar posted a picture of him ready to train outside the American Kickboxing Academy. The rising star wrote the following on Twitter:
“Hey @danawhite I am back and started preparing for fight 🤝”
He is itching for a matchup and even tagged the UFC boss in his tweet.
Meanwhile, Usman is looking to defend his in Bellator’s upcoming Lightweight Grand Prix. It is an eight-man tournament featuring the top talent from the 155-pound division.
Usman’s first matchup will be against veteran Benson Henderson. He will face the former UFC and WEC lightweight champion at Bellator 292 on March 10th.