Umar
Nurmagomedov believes he won’t be matched up against Sean
O’Malley.
Nurmagomedov and O’Malley are currently on the cusp of title
contention, with a win likely to seal a title shot for either of
them. However, former bantamweight champion Merab
Dvalishvili has been guaranteed a chance to reclaim his title
against Petr Yan
next.
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Nurmagomedov (20-1) is willing to fight anyone in the meantime,
preferably O’Malley (19-3) in Abu Dhabi this summer. However,
Nurmagomedov doubts the matchup will come to fruition as neither
O’Malley nor the
UFC will want it. Nurmagomedov believes that if Yan defends his
title, O’Malley will get the next title shot, considering his
previous split-decision win over the champion. However,
Nurmagomedov believes he will secure the next title shot if
Dvalishvili reclaims the title against Yan. While Nurmagomedov has
lost once to Dvalishvili, O’Malley has lost two title fights
against the Georgian, including a stoppage.
Ready for Anyone
“I’m ready to fight anywhere with anyone, anytime,” Nurmagomedov
told Gorilla Fighting. “If there is a rematch between Merab and
Petr, I would like to fight against Sean, the contender. 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 this
summer. I could fight a five-round bout, headline the event… If
Petr wins the rematch, his next fight will be against Sean, but if
Merab wins the rematch, I’ll be next. Sean fought him twice.”
Nurmagomedov defeated Deiveson
Figueiredo via unanimous decision at UFC 324
last month, recording his second consecutive win since his failed
title bid against Dvalishvili last year. Meanwhile, “Suga” defeated
Yadong
Song on the same card via unanimous decision to rebound from
consecutive title losses against Dvalishvili.