Umar Nurmagomedov is no longer just Khabib’s cousin—he’s blazing his own path, carving his name into the UFC’s bantamweight history with the precision of a sniper. Following in the legendary footsteps of ‘The Eagle,’ Umar has skyrocketed to the top of the 135-pound division, and his latest performance was nothing short of spectacular.

Facing the relentless Cory Sandhagen, a man known for his lethal combination of striking and grappling, Umar didn’t just win—he dominated. In a division packed with sharks, he’s emerged as one of the most dangerous fighters on the planet. Now, sitting at #2 in the bantamweight rankings, Umar’s eyes are locked on one thing: gold. But standing in his way is the flashy, unpredictable champion Sean O’Malley, and the relentless machine that is Merab Dvalishvili, who are set to clash for the title at UFC 306 on September 14.

The whispers are turning into roars, with none other than Joe Rogan leading the charge. The UFC commentator and MMA guru is banging the drum for Umar to get his shot at the belt, and it’s not hard to see why. Umar’s undefeated record and recent dismantling of Sandhagen has fight fans and analysts alike on edge, eager to see him step into the cage with the very best the division has to offer.

With the same ferocious grappling that made Khabib a household name and the striking finesse that has been honed to perfection, Umar isn’t just riding the Nurmagomedov legacy—he’s expanding it.

Joe Rogan feels Umar vs. The winner of Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili is the best UFC has to offer

Speaking to welterweight champ Belal Muhammad, who explained how the Dagestani training style was the reason they were so dominant and nigh unbeatable, Rogan agreed. The American revealed that while he always knew Umar was a fantastic striker along with his famous grappling abilities, he was especially impressed with Umar’s comprehensive win over Sandhagen.

“That mentality is why that [the Dagestani] camp produces so many assassins. I was very impressed with Umar, very impressed because I always knew he was an elite kicker, you know. I mean he’s an elite striker too. But to see him fight a guy like Sandhagen who’s so complex he does so many things well and to see him dominate that fight I was like ‘Wow that’s really impressive,'” Rogan said on his podcast.

So impressed is Rogan with Umar in fact, that he insisted the Dagestani fight the winner of the O’Malley-Dvalishvili UFC Noche title bout. The JRE podcast host felt that the UFC must make sure Umar is next for the title shot, claiming that from a pure sporting and competitive point of view, Umar going against either O’Malley or Dvalishvili was the best mixed martial arts had to offer.

“I really love the guy, I think he’s awesome especially after the Sandhagen fight. I think he’s the most compelling contender in that division after Merab. So after Merab I think he’s got to get that shot [against] whoever wins. Him against either one of those guys is sensational… That’s like [an] elite top-level [fight] that’s like as good as we have to offer today in terms of martial arts talent,” he added. And this sentiment is shared by the bantamweight champ’s coach, too.

O’Malley’s coach feels Umar is a dangerous opponent

Echoing what Rogan told Muhammad, Sean O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, too has admitted that Umar was a ‘serious problem’ because not only is he an excellent wrestler like the rest of his Dagestani cohorts, but had a very formidable striking game to boot.

“Yeah, Umar Nurmagomedov is a serious problem… He’s very athletic. And he not only can [wrestle]… He’s a very good striker, too. He’s got very versatile kicks… He’s a very dangerous, dangerous fight because he can win the fight anywhere,” Welch said.

And while the coach felt that Umar, because of his remarkably well-rounded game, was a very real threat to O’Malley, he observed that he saw ‘holes’ in the Dagestani’s game that ‘Suga’ could exploit in a potential bout. “But I do still see holes. And I still do see ways Sean can frustrate him, and be faster than him, and knock him out also,” he added.

‘Suga’, of course, is arguably the best striker in the entire sport at the moment, but doesn’t have much of (or really any) ground game. This is why Umar with his all-round game is such an intriguing matchup for the bantamweight champ. Able to go toe-to-toe with ‘Suga’, Umar will always have the option to take the champ down and maul him there, which other grapplers haven’t been able to do against O’Malley simply because of his overwhelming striking. This is why Rogan and almost the entire MMA world want to see them fight. What are your thoughts on Joe Rogan and Tim Welch’s opinion on Umar Nuramgomedov?