Khabib sheds light on Umar Nurmagomedov's future in the UFC
A year can make a significant difference, and Khabib Nurmagomedov is keen to highlight this as he discusses his cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov, a rising star in the UFC's bantamweight division. In January, Umar faced a close defeat to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311, but Khabib sees potential in his cousin's recent performance against Mario Bautista at UFC 320.
Khabib believes Umar has more to offer than what he showed that night. Bautista, with an impressive eight-fight winning streak, was a formidable opponent. Umar's energy and performance during fight week stood out to Khabib, who sees a bright future for his cousin.
"He performed amazing," Khabib said in an interview with Josh Thomson. "But I believe he has much more than he showed that night against Bautista. Bautista had very good skills. I really like his energy right before the fight. Fight week, he was a much, much different fighter than almost one year ago. I really liked the way he performed. He's coming. He's on the way. He's on the way to be a UFC champion. It'll be very hard to stop him."
The bantamweight championship will be on the line at UFC 323 in Las Vegas on December 6, with a main event bout between Dvalishvili and Petr Yan. Khabib predicts Umar will face both men, and he wants to see Umar challenge the top contenders in the division, including Merab Dvalishvili, Petr Yan, and Sean O'Malley.
"UFC never guarantees somebody something," Khabib said. "You never know. If they give you something, you have to take it. I told my guys, 'When opportunity comes, you have to go and get it. Otherwise, it'll never work.' I'm sure Umar is good with this. Umar said, 'If they give me a title shot, I'm going to fight. If not, give me anybody.' I really like he's confident about this."
Khabib's confidence in Umar's future is clear, and he's eager to see his cousin rise through the ranks, facing the best in the division and ultimately becoming a UFC champion.
