Usman
Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, has made some bold
predictions.
Nurmagomedov (22-0) is currently a free agent, having exhausted his
Professional Fighters League contract after defending his
lightweight title against Archie
Colgan. While the PFL has a 90-day exclusive negotiation window
with Nurmagomedov, the
Ultimate Fighting Championship is also looking to sign the
undefeated Dagestani.
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Usman Nurmagomedov’s manager predicts wins over Ilia Topuria,
Charles Oliveira and other UFC contenders
Abdelaziz wants Nurmagomedov to fight Ilia
Topuria in his UFC debut if he signs with the promotion. The
veteran manager believes Nurmagomedov would make the former
two-division UFC champion quit.
Abdelaziz and Nurmagomedov both regard current UFC champion
Justin
Gaethje as the best lightweight in the world. However,
Abdelaziz believes Nurmagomedov would dominate most other elite UFC
contenders at 155 pounds.
According to Abdelaziz, Paddy
Pimblett, Charles
Oliveira and Max
Holloway don’t stand a chance against Nurmagomedov. He
considers Arman
Tsarukyan the only opponent who could give the unbeaten Russian
a competitive fight.
“If he goes to the UFC, I want Ilia
Topuria, first fight. Why not?” Abdelaziz said on the “Pound 4
Pound” podcast. “Usman will knock out Dan Hooker,
he’ll submit him. I love Paddy
Pimblett. He’s a great guy, but Usman will stop him in under
two rounds. I think he’ll make Ilia quit. The only fight I can see
being competitive is him and Arman. Charles
Oliveira, he will make him quit… And he will absolutely
demolish Max
Holloway.”