Umar Nurmagomedov secured his first KO victory since 2017 at UFC Fight Night 217 last night when he defeated Raoni Barcelos in round one.
The Dagestani fighter received minimal damage in the fight and is eager to get back into the octagon as soon as he can. Nurmagomedov took to Twitter to call for a fight on March 4th at UFC 285, which is headlined by Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane.
He tweeted the following:
“March 4”
See the tweet below:
The surging bantamweight contender is hoping to increase his fight-activity in 2023. Nurmagomedov stated in his post-fight press conference that he wants to fight four times this year, which would double his output compared to last year’s total of two fights.
Umar Nurmagomedov is currently ranked #11 in the UFC bantamweight division, and a matchup with #10-ranked Ricky Simon appears to be the logical matchup. However, the Dagestani stated in his post-fight interview that he would be interested in a fight on March 4th with anyone except Simon.
Here is what Nurmagomedov said:
“No I don’t want to fight [Ricky Simon]. I have different name and it will be on March 4th I hope… [I will fight] Anyone on March 4th. But not [Simon]… I will be nice if I fight four times, three or four times this year.”
Watch the interview below from 2:30:
Umar Nurmagomedov on the difference of not having Khabib in his corner
Khabib Nurmagomedov is the older cousin of Umar Nurmagomedov, and ‘The Eagle’ has featured in the corner of his cousin for several years.
Following his retirement from fighting in 2020, the former UFC lightweight champion took up the role as the co-head coach of American Kickboxing Academy. However, Khabib Nurmagomedov recently announced that he would be stepping away from MMA entirely to spend time with his family.
It was Umar Nurmagomedov’s first fight since his cousin’s decision, and he reflected on the absence of ‘The Eagle’ during an interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA.
Nurmagomedov said this:
“When [Khabib] is close it’s a big motivator for me, and when he leaves it adds responsibility… Without [Khabib] there is more pressure, with him it’s easy.”
Watch the interview below from 2:30:
Khabib Nurmagomedov was awarded the Coach of the Year for 2022 by media outlet MMA Junkie. Many believed that he could be as successful as a coach as he was during his fighting career, but for now it appears that ‘The Eagle’ has returned to his nest.