UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov addressed the surprise appearance of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov at his latest match. He revealed details about the tech billionaire’s pre-bout visit and his visible support during the victory announcement.
The visit came at a crucial moment, just before Umar’s bout, leaving little opportunity for extended conversation. “Honestly, I was warming up when he came in and I didn’t get a chance to speak to him or kind of communicate to him at all,” Umar explained during the post-bout press conference.
“Obviously he’s a very interesting person. He’s an important person. I’m sure everybody would like to talk to him and and and you know, kind of pick his brain, but I didn’t have a chance to do that because I was warming up,” he said.
The timing of the visit proved particularly challenging, as Nurmagomedov needed to remain focused and ready. With heavyweight fights scheduled before his bout, he couldn’t afford to be distracted.
“With the heavyweights that were fighting before me, you never know. Everything can end in, you know, in one shot. So there was no time really to dillydally. I had to warm up and get ready for my fight,” he noted.
The Russian tech entrepreneur’s presence didn’t go unnoticed beyond the locker room. Following Nurmagomedov’s victory, cameras captured Durov celebrating enthusiastically from his seat, a gesture that clearly resonated with the fighter.
“It’s great, of course, when somebody’s rooting for you, when somebody’s cheering for you, supports you,” Nurmagomedov said, emphasizing how such displays of support motivate him and his team to continue their winning ways.
Despite missing the opportunity to chat before the match, Nurmagomedov did acknowledge one potential benefit of connecting with Durov: “I do have a Telegram channel, so it would be great to ask him to maybe, you know, give me a check mark in there or something like that.”
In a lighthearted moment, when reminded that rival Merab Dvalishvili has Mark Zuckerberg’s support, Nurmagomedov responded with confidence: “I guess we’ll have to have a technology battle. He’ll have to battle better in his technology. I’ll battle better in my technology and I’ll have to win.”
