Umar Nurmagomedov tried his best to win the bantamweight title at UFC 311 against Merab Dvalishvili tonight but came up short. While the Dagestani won the first two rounds on two judges’ scorecards, Dvalishvili rallied back strong in the latter rounds and dominated the exhausted Dagestani as his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov could only look helplessly from the corner.

‘Young Eagle’ may not have won the title but at least he has his family to console him. In fact, his younger brother, Bellator lightweight champion Usman, took to Instagram and wrote a long and heartfelt post about Umar, commending him for his valiant performance. “People will always find flaws in you. Not everyone can please a person. You did a great job, you broke your arm in the first round, but you still took three rounds and fought like a man until the end,” Usman wrote.

Umar Nurmagomedov claimed in the post-fight interview that he had broken his arm early on in the fight, which is the main reason his performance was so lackluster in the latter rounds, and that is totally fair. But Usman Nurmagomedov went one step further and took a position almost anyone who watched the fight would disagree with – that ‘Young Eagle’ won the fight, implying the decision should have gone his brother’s way.

“I have no doubt that you won this fight, and people can talk, let them talk. We accept the inevitable with dignity, fights are not the most important thing in life, it does not add or subtract the masculine Will work on the mistakes, we will come back stronger than ever Alhamdulillah anyway, victory or defeat, joy or bitterness. Alhamdulillah for everything!!” he added.

What seemed to have really been insurmountable for Umar seems to be ‘The Machine’s legendary gas tank. By the third round, the Dagestani looked tired, while Dvalishvili looked fresh as a daisy. Fatigue, as they say, makes cowards of us all. But not Umar, who valiantly fought to the last second and never gave up. But Merab Dvalishvili was just too good for him this evening. And as usual, UFC fans are suspicious about the veracity of Umar’s injury and are asking the question.

Did Umar Nurmagomedov really break his hand against Merab Dvalishvili?

Excuses are as old as combat sports. In fact, they are a feature, not a bug of the sport. Whether it be Jamahal Hill essentially blaming Herb Dean for his UFC 300 loss to Alex Pereira or Colby Covington claiming he only lost to Joaquin Buckley at their UFC Tampa clash last month because he took the fight on short notice, excuses are a dime a dozen in the sport.

This does not mean that at least some of these excuses are not valid, but making excuses after a loss is just not a good look. On the other hand, it is totally fair to make them in case of injury, like the one Umar Nurmagomedov suffered at UFC 311. While we do not know exactly when the Dagestani broke his hand, his manager, Ali Abdelaziz has shared a picture that makes it seem that he did break it.

While we do not have the X-ray to prove it, the photo that the manager shared shows Umar’s hand swollen like a balloon, a clear indication that it was indeed broken. This means that ‘Young Eagle’ deserves even more respect. After all, he made it to the final bell despite this serious injury, which is an extraordinary feat, and shows that the Dagestani has a veritable warrior spirit inside him. What do you think about Usman Nurmagomedov’s heartfelt post for his older brother?