The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set on putting the Nurmagomedov family under one roof.
On Friday, UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov posted on his Instagram that his cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov (12-0), has been signed by the UFC. The featherweight will join the 155-pound king as well as his other cousin Abubakar Nurmagomedov. His potential opponent or debut date have not yet been announced.
Unbeaten as a professional, U. Nurmagomedov has finished half of his opponents before the final bell. A veteran of Fight Nights Global early in his career, he later made two appearances with the Professional Fighters League. In those, he defeated Saidyokub Kakhramonov and Sidemar Honorio on the scorecards. Most recently, the Dagestan native handed Argentinian Braian Gonzalez his first career defeat, doing so by first-round rear-naked choke.
In his post, K. Nurmagomedov wrote (via Google Translate):
“I, the horse and the @ufc fighter.
“Brotherly @umar_nurmagomedov you have a lot to prove when I signed up for #ufc there were a lot of people who did not believe in me, but my team and my close people supported and believed in me.
“Hope for the Almighty and labor will bear fruit.
“You have everything for the result, and now act and prove that your place is among the best athletes in the world.”
K. Nurmagomedov has also yet to taste defeat in his pro MMA career, winning all 28 of his bouts including 12 under the UFC banner. Most recently, “The Eagle” tapped Dustin Poirier in the third round at UFC 242 in September to unify the lightweight and interim lightweight titles, and picked up a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his efforts. Their cousin A. Nurmagomedov was not as lucky, dropping his promotional debut when he was submitted by David Zawada at UFC Moscow in November.