Famous UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad recently made a bold prediction regarding Usman Nurmagomedov’s MMA career.
The undefeated 24-year-old Russian is considered one of the most exciting prospects in MMA, which is unsurprising considering his incredible fighting pedigree. Nurmagomedov is the younger brother of UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov and a cousin of the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov. He also trains with grappling phenom Islam Makhachev.
The reigning Bellator lightweight champion recently defended his belt against Benson Henderson at Bellator 292, dominantly submitting the former UFC champion within three minutes of the first round. Henderson announced his retirement following the fight.
In response to Usman Nurmagomedov defeating ‘Smooth’ in such a dominant fashion, Belal Muhammad tweeted out an interesting prediction about the Russian’s future.
‘Remember The Name’ claimed that Nurmagomedov’s skills along with the pedigree of his training partners, which includes the likes of reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, could only mean that Nurmagomedov would never lose his undefeated status, saying:
“Man Usman is 24 and his main partner is Islam. I don’t see him losing that 0 ever.”
Islam Makhachev also cornered Usman Nurmagomedov in his recent fight, along with Islam Mamedov, Umar Nurmagomedov, and the head coach of the American Kickboxing Academy, Javier Mendez.
Usman Nurmagomedov on Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284
Islam Makhachev faced the toughest test of his career against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 in Perth. After a grueling five rounds, the Dagestani grappling savant ultimately emerged victorious on the judges’ scorecards. However, with the fight being incredibly close, many believe that Volkanovski should’ve gotten his hand raised.
Usman Nurmagomedov isn’t one of them, and he wholeheartedly backed his training partner as the clear winner. In a recent pre-fight press conference before Bellator 292, the Russian shared his opinion on UFC 284’s headliner results. He stated:
“For me, there is no question that Islam won. He was dominating most of the time, except maybe that last minute when he missed that punch and ended up on his back. But overall, I think he was dominating, and I’m not saying that because he’s my friend… I know Volkanovski is a great guy… I think there is no question that he won.”
While he retained his lightweight belt, Makhachev was denied his desired No.1 pound-for-pound spot. After Jon Jones blitzed Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, Makhachev dropped to the No.3 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings. The 31-year-old is currently riding an impressive 12-fight win streak.
Watch the full presser below:
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