Umar Nurmagomedov - News & Rumors - UFC

Taking on Song in Shanghai Nurmagomedov will face Yadong Song at UFC Shanghai on August 29, per Marcel Dorff of Heavy on Sports.

Impact Nurmagomedov will head into the bout looking to build momentum coming off back-to-back victories in UFC play dating back to October 2025. The 30-year-old Dagestani will retain an advantage in reach compared to the younger Chinese fighter. Though he's undefeated in KO/TKO finishes, Nurmagomedov's relative inexperience in that arena (2-0 professional record) indicates that he will likely look to use the ground game and outlast his opponent.

JULY 2 • ROTOWIRE

Scheduled for UFC Abu Dhabi Nurmagomedov will fight David Martinez in a bantamweight fight at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25, according to the UFC's announcement Monday.

Impact Once an undefeated prospect in the UFC, Nurmagomedov is now facing one himself for his quest to get another shot at the promotion's bantamweight championship. Since losing to then-BW champion Merab Dvalishvili in his first and only loss thus far, Nurmagomedov has proven to remain a tough match by defeating top contenders in Mario Bautista and Deiveson Figueiredo. Nurmagomedov's next opponent is 14-1 all-time but 4-0 in the UFC.

JUNE 1 • ROTOWIRE

Easily handles heavy opponent Nurmagomedov defeated Deiveson Figueiredo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at UFC 324 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Impact As high as a -2000 favorite at some spots entering the evening, Nurmagomedov picked up an easy victory in addition to a portion of Figueiredo's purse after the latter missed weight by 2.5 pounds on Friday morning. Umar mixed in his trademark wrestling, landing 2-of-6 takedowns for 4:50 worth of control time. He won the total strike battle by a 103-28 count, although just 34 of those were deemed "significant." Truth be told, he didn't look all that dominant, but he did more than enough to earn a clean sweep on the scorecards. There's no guarantee he'll get the call, but Nurmagomedov is in firm contention for the next title shot at 135 pounds.

JANUARY 25 • ROTOWIRE

Fighting heavier Figgy Smalls Nurmagomedov is scheduled to compete against Deiveson Figueiredo in a catchweight fight Saturday at Las Vegas for UFC 324, per Aaron Bronsteter of Sportsnet.

Impact Nurmagomedov made the UFC's bantamweight limit, but his upcoming opponent did not, hence their fight now being a catchweight bout. The former is working his way back up to challenging for the UFC Bantamweight Champion and defeating a top contender and former flyweight champion in Figueiredo should help the overall cause.

JANUARY 23 • ROTOWIRE

Fighting Figueiredo in January Nurmagomedov will fight Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 324 on Jan. 24, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.

Impact The 29-year-old bantamweight lost his perfect record to Merab Dvalishvili in January but got back on track with a win over Mario Bautista in October. Nurmagomedov will now aim to start a new winning streak while facing an opponent who has dropped two of his last three fights.

NOVEMBER 28, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

"Khabib's record that day 29-1" - Fans in splits over Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev's hilarious argument ahead of UFC 322 While Khabib Nurmagomedov is a mentor to the talented team, which includes Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov, it appears they don't alwa...

NOVEMBER 18, 2025 • SPORTSKEEDA.COM

"I felt him getting more desperate" - Mario Bautista claims one missing factor could have shifted the fight against Umar Nurmagomedov Umar Nurmagomedov left UFC 321 Abu Dhabi with a decision win, but not without feeling Mario Bautista’s fight in full.

OCTOBER 31, 2025 • SPORTSKEEDA.COM

UFC 321: Umar Nurmagomedov full post-fight interview UFC 321 winner Umar Nurmagomedov spoke to MMA Junkie and reporters post-fight after his unanimous decision victory over Mario Bautista.

OCTOBER 26, 2025 • USATODAY.COM

UFC 321 main event ruled a no-contest after Ciryl Gane accidental eye poke to champion Tom Aspinall

Champion Tom Aspinall and top-ranked Ciryl Gane couldn’t make it through the opening round of their heavyweight main event at UFC 321 inside Etihad Arena before the match was ruled...

OCTOBER 25, 2025 • Associated Press

Gets right back in win column Nurmagomedov defeated Mario Bautista via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at UFC 321 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

Impact We last saw Nurmagomedov in January, at which point he was giving UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili all he could handle in a title fight. He got right back to his winning ways here against an opponent in Bautista that entered having won eight straight. As is almost always the case, Umar got his grappling game going early and often. He connected on 11-of-14 takedowns, good for 10:46 worth of control time. Nurmagomedov is a load from top position and nearly impossible to move once he gets in a dominant position. Umar is pretty clearly the second-best bantamweight on the roster at this point, but it would be surprising if the company went right back to him for another title shot. He's almost certainly going to have to win another big fight before getting a second look.

OCTOBER 25, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

UFC 321: Umar Nurmagomedov full media day interview UFC 321 fighter Umar Nurmagomedov spoke to MMA Junkie and reporters at media day for his bantamweight bout vs. Mario Bautista.

OCTOBER 22, 2025 • USATODAY.COM

"They're gonna see how Nurmagomedov's comeback" - Umar Nurmagomedov promises fans a statement return at UFC 321 Umar Nurmagomedov is aiming to make a strong return in his upcoming fight at UFC 321, promising to put on an impressive performance.

OCTOBER 22, 2025 • SPORTSKEEDA.COM

"He's a very hard challenge to prepare for" - Daniel Cormier backs Umar Nurmagomedov as Merab Dvalishvili's toughest possible matchup Merab Dvalishvili seems unbeatable at the moment. He is currently on a 14-fight win streak and has defended the bantamweight strap thrice si...

OCTOBER 7, 2025 • SPORTSKEEDA.COM

"I don't get tired" - Cory Sandhagen drops eye-opening remark on Merab Dvalishvili's wins over Sean O'Malley and Umar Nurmagomedov Cory Sandhagen is studying Merab Dvalishvili closely as UFC 320 approaches. Dvalishvili is an expert at wearing opponents down with pressure...

SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 • SPORTSKEEDA.COM

"Bautista's cousin's name is not Khabib" - Merab Dvalishvili deems Mario Bautista "more deserving" of a title shot than Umar Nurmagomedov It looks like there is no love lost between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2025 • SPORTSKEEDA.COM

"He was disrespecting me" - Merab Dvalishvili gets honest about why Umar Nurmagomedov fight was "personal" Merab Dvalishvili recently shared his honest thoughts on Umar Nurmagomedov and explained why he took his fight against the Dagestani grapple...

AUGUST 29, 2025 • SPORTSKEEDA.COM

Will fight at UFC 321 Nurmagomedov will face off against Mario Bautista at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 25, MMAFighting.comreports.

Impact Nurmagomedov is coming off a tough loss against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 in LA. However, he was riding a lengthy winning streak prior to his latest defeat and now has the opportunity to bounce back with this fight now on the books. Bautista has been enjoying plenty of success himself, fresh off a victory by decision over Patrick Mix at UFC 316.

AUGUST 29, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

UFC 321: Umar Nurmagomedov gets rising contender in Abu Dhabi UFC 321 continues to add ranked contender fights.

AUGUST 29, 2025 • USATODAY.COM

Khabib Nurmagomedov envisions Islam Makhachev-esque redemption arch for cousin Umar: "Can become pound-for-pound No.1" Khabib Nurmagomedov expressed confidence in his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov’s strong comeback, pointing to Islam Makhachev as an example.

AUGUST 11, 2025 • SPORTSKEEDA.COM

UFC 318 winner Vinicius Oliveira rips 'coward' Umar Nurmagomedov, wants Sean O'Malley Vinicius Oliveira didn't hold back his feelings on Umar Nurmagomedov after his UFC 318 win over Kyler Phillips.

JULY 21, 2025 • USATODAY.COM

UFC title contender Sean O'Malley quit weed, social media and hair dye. Can it make him a champion?

UFC 135-pound champion Merab Dvalishvili defends the championship against Sean O’Malley and Julianna Peña defends her 135-pound belt against two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Ha...

JUNE 6, 2025 • Associated Press

Merab Dvalishvili explains why linking Umar Nurmagomedov to UFC title shot is 'very disrespectful' Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t think Umar Nurmagomedov deserves to be in the UFC bantamweight title picture just yet.

MARCH 13, 2024 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

MARCH 13, 2024 • SUNHERALD.COM

MARCH 13, 2024 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Daniel Cormier impressed how Umar Nurmagomedov fought on instinct after knockdown at UFC Fight Night 238 Daniel Cormier had high praise for how Umar Nurmagomedov handled adversity at UFC Fight Night 238.

MARCH 8, 2024 • SUNHERALD.COM

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UFC 321 main event ruled a no-contest after Ciryl Gane accidental eye poke to champion Tom Aspinall

UFC title contender Sean O'Malley quit weed, social media and hair dye. Can it make him a champion?