Umar Nurmagomedov is hopeful he is only one fight away from his first 135-pound title shot — and he believes there is a chance that shot will come against Sean O’Malley. Read more about his thoughts on the potential matchup and why he thinks Cory Sandhagen might be a tougher test.
| Umar Nurmagomedov believes he is one fight away from a title shot
| He thinks Sean O’Malley might be his next opponent
| Nurmagomedov praises O’Malley’s talent and discusses the potential matchup
| He also believes Cory Sandhagen will be a tougher challenge
Umar Nurmagomedov, the UFC bantamweight fighter, is hopeful that his next fight will be for the 135-pound title. He believes there is a chance that his opponent could be Sean O’Malley, who recently defended his belt against Marlon Vera. Nurmagomedov praises O’Malley’s talent and discusses the potential matchup. However, he also believes that Cory Sandhagen will be a tougher challenge than O’Malley. Nurmagomedov’s next fight has yet to be booked, but all signs point to a matchup against Sandhagen this summer.
Umar Nurmagomedov praises O’Malley, believes Sandhagen might be tougher test
UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov is hopeful he is only one fight away from his first 135-pound title shot — and he believes there is a chance that shot will come against Sean O’Malley.
Speaking to ESPN, Nurmagomedov admitted he never thought O’Malley would win the title from Aljamain Sterling in 2023. Now that O’Malley has it — and successfully defended it against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera on Saturday in Miami — Nurmagomedov thinks there is certainly a chance O’Malley knocks out Merab Dvalishvili, his likely next challenger.
"O’Malley is talented," Nurmagomedov said. "I’m very interested in his fight with Merab, because Merab is going to wrestle all night. We know this. But Merab doesn’t have control. He can’t take someone down and dominate them on the ground. So, it’s about how long he can take him down, because I’ve seen how O’Malley can get back up. Maybe O’Malley can catch him."
Nurmagomedov picked up his fifth UFC win earlier this month in Las Vegas. His next fight has yet to be booked, however all signs point to a matchup against Cory Sandhagen this summer. Nurmagomedov said he doesn’t care when the fight is, although he wouldn’t mind having it in August if the UFC books a card in the Middle East.
Regardless of when it’s booked, Nurmagomedov believes a fight against Sandhagen will be more difficult than whoever he eventually faces for the championship.
"I think it’s harder than even O’Malley," said Nurmagomedov of Sandhagen. "Cory is very difficult because his IQ is very high-level."
