UFC 299: Sean O’Malley Reveals Why He Ducked Khabib’s Cousin Umar Nurmagomedov

Will Sean O’Malley ever go up against Umar Nurmagomedov? The bantamweight champion is all about big fights and big superstar power. However, many have accused him of avoiding Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s cousin. Umar Nurmagomedov himself recently achieved a victory against Bekzat Almakhan via unanimous decision maintaining his undefeated winning streak.

However, O’Malley’s own unbeaten streak was broken when he first lost against Marlon Vera. Now, he’s looking for redemption against ‘Chito’. In a recent interview, he finally opened up about the biggest reason he’d prefer not to fight Nurmagomedov just yet.

Sean O’Malley wants to fight stars

Sean O’Malley argued that he’s a super star. Meanwhile, Umar Nurmagomedov is still a relatively newer fighter who hasn’t yet made it through the ranks. His reasoning makes sense given the fighter hasn’t fought that many times in the UFC just yet.

“. . . people think I’m avoiding tough fights, Umar’s probably the toughest fight and yeah I’ve been bringing his name up but I also… like it has to make sense Umar isn’t a star at all. There’s like potential to be a star, star, then superstar.”

“I believe I’m a superstar. I believe ‘Chito’ is a star. I believe Umar is a potential superstar, literally because he has the last name Nurmagomedov.”  O’Malley only recently secured his title after winning his previous fight against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292.

Being on cloud 9 is only fair for the champion who is well on his way to try and gain redemption against Marlon Vera during their main event fight. Nurmagomedov, on the other hand already has a target in his mind in the form of Cory Sandhagen who he called out after winning his bout against Almakhan. Meanwhile, cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov believes a title shot will come his way.

‘The Eagle’ and his words follow Umar Nurmagomedov

Umar Nurmagomedov is yet to have a big fight within the promotion. If a matchup between him and Sandhagen were to happen, that would be his biggest bout up until now. His journey in the promotion so far is reminiscent of the way ‘The Eagle’ emerged in the UFC.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov took on several lower ranked opponents before making it big. He gave his words of wisdom to his cousin who might just become champion one day. In fact, ‘The Eagle’ was certain that his cousin would achieve the title much like himself.

A bout between ‘Suga’ and Nurmagomedov after the Vera bout could be an interesting possibility. Would O’Malley be more inclined to accept it if he loses the title? Perhaps it’s too much of a risk fighting a lower ranked opponent as a champion. What is your take?

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