Umar Nurmagomedov seems unfazed by his loss to Merab Dvalishvili.
Nurmagomedov challenged Dvalishvili for his bantamweight title in the co-main event of UFC 311 last Saturday. The challenger performed well in the first two rounds, but as the fight got deeper Dvalishvili took over. “The Machine” ultimately defended the strap by unanimous decision in a bout that earned him “Fight of the Night” honors. Nurmagomedov said there are no excuses for his loss to Dvalishvili. However, Dagestani also feels that the battle is not completely lost.
“There are no excuses,” Nurmagomedov wrote on Instagram. “Insha’Allah, I will be the champion. The rest doesn’t matter. Praise Allah in any situation. And if the whole world convinces me otherwise, I will take this fight. I don’t think I lost.”
Nurmagomedov’s unbeaten streak was the only setback for the Dagestani fighter at UFC 311. Nurmagomedov’s cousin Khabib, along with American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez, successfully pushed Tagir Ulanbekov and Islam Makhachev to victory. While Habib congratulated the winners, he also had moving words of praise for Umar.
“[Umar Nurmagomedov] Cheer up Junior, you showed yesterday that you are one of the best in the world,” Khabib wrote on Instagram. “At the moment we have a lot to work on. Let’s fix our mistakes and get back in the title race.”
Nurmagomedov claims he injured his hand in the first round of his fight with Dvalishvili. The 29-year-old then posted a photo of his visibly swollen fist.
Umar Nurmagomedov shared a video of his hand injury the day after his fight with Merab Dvalishvili 😬
🎥 @UNmgdv
#UFC311 #UFC
#mixed martial arts
pic.twitter.com/Ljb1Jpe2C5
— Championship Round (@ChampRDS)
January 19, 2025
Source link
