UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov isn’t convinced that he’ll be facing Sean O’Malley in his next outing.
Outside of his defeat to Merab Dvalishvili, Umar Nurmagomedov has been one of the most consistently strong performers in the bantamweight division in the last few years. He’s beaten a string of top names, with his most recent triumph coming against Deiveson Figueiredo.
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In terms of the future, however, it’s not quite clear as to what’s going to happen for Nurmagomedov. He’s clearly good enough to contend for the championship, but it feels like the promotion prefers the idea of Petr Yan defending his belt against Sean O’Malley, even though many fans and pundits believe Umar and Sean should be the ones facing off.
In a recent interview, Nurmagomedov gave his thoughts on his current sitution.
Nurmagomedov discusses his future
“I’m ready to fight anywhere with anyone, anytime,” Nurmagomedov told Gorilla Fighting in a translated interview. “If there is a rematch between Yan and Merab, I would like to fight against O’Malley, the contender (bout). I find it hard to believe that Sean will agree to this fight and that the UFC will make it happen.
“There will be an event in Abu Dhabi in the summer. I could fight a five-round bout, headline the event. The situation in the UFC is as follows: If Petr wins the rematch, his next fight will be against O’Malley, then I’ll be next. But if Merab wins the rematch, I’ll be next. Sean fought him twice. In the last fight, Merab choked him.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
Is this the fight to make? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, BJPENN Nation!