Sean
O’Malley doubts Umar
Nurmagomedov will show up for his upcoming clash against
Cory
Sandhagen.
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Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov are scheduled to headline
UFC on ABC 7 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3.
O’Malley will keep an eye on what has been billed as a title
eliminator matchup if it does come to fruition.
O’Malley took a dig at Nurmagomedov, accusing the Dagestani of
pulling out of fights habitually. Nurmagomedov was previously
scheduled to fight Sandhagen at UFC Nashville in August 2023 but a
shoulder injury forced him out of the event.
O’Malley is also surprised at underdog status of Sandhagen, whom
“Sugar” considers to be one of the most skilled fighters on the
entire UFC roster. The bantamweight champ believes Sandhagen is
better than Nurmagomedov and replied in affirmative when asked if
he is picking “Sandman” in the upcoming UFC Abu Dhabi
headliner.
“Yeah, I mean I’ll tune it if it happens,” O’Malley told MMAFighting.com. “We know ‘Umnar’ likes to pull
out, something happens. So I’ll be surprised if the fight happens.
I’m surprised Cory’s such a massive underdog. I think Cory’s one of
the most skilled guys in the entire UFC. So I wouldn’t be surprised
if Cory beat him at all… I think ‘Umnar’ is as good as everyone
thinks he is, I just think Cory’s better.”
O’Malley is expected to defend his title against Merab
Dvalishvili sometime this year. If “Sugar” gets past
Dvalishvili, he could the winner of Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov
next. While O’Malley seemingly made a conscious effort to
mispronounce Nurmagomedov’s first name, he agrees Sandhagen will be
fun matchup.
Nurmagomedov recently returned to action at UFC Fight Night 238 in
March after a 14-month hiatus against Bekzat
Almakhan. Nurmagomedov survived an early knockdown, the first
one of his career, and outgrappled Almakhan to maintain his perfect
record with a unanimous decision triumph.