Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teammate and cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov is ready to get back to action. The UFC bantamweight had been out of competition due to a shoulder injury he sustained before his scheduled fight against Cory Sandhagen in 2023. Umar is currently undefeated in the UFC and has found support from the fans who consider him the next in line, along with Islam Makhachev, to carry on the legacy of ‘The Eagle’ in the UFC.
And in a recent post on Instagram, Team Khabib shared an update about his impending return to the UFC, with a reference to WWE star and former UFC heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar! The update has caused the UFC’s bantamweight division to sit up and take notice as the ‘Young Eagle’ looks to retake flight!
Team Khabib is ready for anyone for Umar Nurmagomedov’s return
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Umar Nurmagomedov is coming back to the UFC, but his opponent will be a newcomer to the promotion. Bekzat Almakhan, with a record of 17-1, has stepped up to face him at UFC Fight Night on March 2 in Las Vegas.
Despite efforts to secure a ranked opponent for Nurmagomedov, none were available. His manager, Ali Abdelaziz, expressed frustration on X (Twitter) with the process and stated, “I never seen ufc working hard to find somebody to fight. He’s a lot more harder to get Fight! for then Islam, Kamaru Usman, and Khabib.”
But with his next opponent now secured, the post on Instagram concerning his return was captioned, “Umar is ready for any fight. Bring Brock Lesnar, let him do the weight, and that’s it. When the cage closes, it doesn’t matter who’s opposite.”
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Nurmagomedov boasts an impressive 4-0 record in the UFC, with three wins coming via finishing his opponent. Now, he’ll face Almakhan, a 26-year-old prospect from Kazakhstan, who is entering the UFC with a nine-fight win streak and seven finishes. As Nurmagomedov prepares to step back into the cage, fans await eagerly to witness his next chapter in the bantamweight division.
But Cory Sandhagen, who was previously scheduled to fight Umar Nurmagomedov, has recently indicated that he may be open to rebooking his clash against the Team Khabib member!
‘The Sandman’ has two conditions in mind before fighting ‘Young Eagle’
Cory Sandhagen is open to rescheduling his fight against Umar Nurmagomedov, but he has two conditions. Sandhagen faced Rob Font instead of Nurmagomedov last August due to an injury, but he tore his triceps during the fight, leading him to focus on recovery since then.
But during a recent interview with MMA on Sirius XM, ‘The Sandman’ stated, “Where I stand with Umar now is if he gets a good win on March 2, and he looks good, and he does awesome, and they don’t give me the title shot next, do me and Umar at International Fight Week.”
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"If he gets a win on March 2nd and he looks good…and they don't give me the title shot next, do me and Umar International Fight Week."@corysandhagen on his interest level in being rebooked against Umar Nurmagomedov
Source: MMA Today | Din Thomas & Anthony Smith pic.twitter.com/G0Ihp1ONy2
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) February 22, 2024
He also revealed that while he is aware that there may be other conditions that may impact the rebooking of the fight between the pair, he believes, “I just felt like I was one fight ahead of him, and now that he has the opportunity to not make that the case, then I’m definitely back open to it.”
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Do you think Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov will step into the Octagon in the future? Why or Why not? Share your thoughts in the comments below!