Umar Nurmagomedov’s brother Usman has finally spoken out about the result of his first effort at UFC gold.
The 29-year-old struggled to a decision loss against Merab Dvalishvili on Saturday night at UFC 311. And in a rare occurance, he had to do without his brother in his corner as his sibling was training in the UAE for his own world title fight this weekend.
Usman defends his PFL lightweight title on Saturday night at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai against Paul Hughes, and as such was unable to be in Los Angeles. And he remained relatively coy when asked about what had happened Stateside when asked yesterday.
Umar Nurmagomedov loses UFC 311 co-main event to Merab Dvalishvili
On Saturday night, Umar Nurmagomedov came up short in his first attempt to win the UFC bantamweight title as he was out-pressured and stifled by Merab Dvalishvili. He had previously been undefeated, but his record heading to a shot at the belt had come under question.
He was tough to get down for the first half of the fight and likely won the opening rounds, but the champion finished strong and by the end seemed to be toying with his rival. It is now unclear what is next for the Russian who is now going to have to undergo surgery for a broken hand.
Nurmagomedov has handled the defeat with a bit of class, writing on Instagram after the fact: “There are no excuses. InshaAllah I will become the champion. The rest is not important. Praise Allah in any situation
“And I don’t think I’ve lost this battle. If even the whole world will convince me otherwise. Deal with the injuries and get back on track. InshaAllah.”
Usman Nurmagomedov opens up about brother’s defeat
Within the famous fighting family, it has always appeared that defeat was never truly an option. Umar’s cousing Khabib Nurmagomedov infamously went 29-0 in a legendary run as lightweight champion in the UFC, and his brother Usman Nurmagomedov is also unbeaten as PFL champion.
However, Usman appears to be handling the result well, despite being unable to travel to America to be by his brother’s side. He has his own fight to worry about, and will be able to see his sibling after this Saturday.
“In my religion we don’t have the word ‘maybe’,” he told Bloody Elbow in Dubai as part of an exclusive chat ahead of his own title fight on Saturday night. “We do not believe this. What happened, that happened, Alhamdulillah for everything.”