Umar Nurmagomedov will face Nathan Maness on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Gamrot. The bout between Maness and Nurmagomedov will take place in the bantamweight division. Nathan is coming into this fight with 3 back to back wins Umar, on the other hand, will defend his undefeated record.
Hailing from Dagestan, Umar is the cousin of the former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Since The Eagle‘s retirement, a lot of fighters from the area have emerged to take his throne. Along with Islam Makhachev, Umar is the most likely successor to Khabib.
View this post on Instagram
Much like Khabib, Usman is also a dominant grappler. After ruling the indie scenes, Usman made his UFC debut against Sergey Morozov in January of 2021. After a layoff of a year, he came back and won another bout against Brian Kelleher. He finished both of his opponents in the UFC via submission.
Does Umar Nurmagomedov have the potential to be a future UFC champion?
Bantamweight is the most exciting division in the UFC at the moment. It has the perfect mixture of young blood and veteran fighters. While Aljamain Sterling holds the belt, elite fighters like Petr Yan, Cory Sandhagen, TJ Dillashaw and Jose Aldo are right behind him.
Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera are Aldo in the running to reach the top of the division. But one name which is currently going under the radar is Umar Nurmagomedov. Although he is fairly new to the promotion, Umar is already showing signs of greatness.
A look at Nurmagomedov’s stats will clear up the picture as to why he is held in such high regard. Although striking may not be his strong suit, Umar lands 3.61 strikes per minute and absorbs only 0.67 at the same time. It shows how elusive Umar is in the Octagon.
His grappling stats are even more impressive. Umar averages 7.52 takedowns per fight and attempts 2.5 submission holds per fight as well. With such impressive numbers, the 26-year-old already seems like a nightmare for the division. He will pose huge problems for fighters such as Yan, O’Malley and Vera who are not known for their grappling prowess.
But it has to be admitted that Umar has not faced any opponent yet who can be considered elite. But, as he takes steps toward the top, Nurmagomedov will have to go through tougher opponents. Hence his bout against Nathan Maness will be important this Saturday.
View this post on Instagram
What is your assessment of Umar Nurmagomedov so far? Do you think he has what it takes to become a UFC champion? Let us know in the comments below.
