After Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, the Dagestani dominance will continue with Umar Nurmagomedov. The undefeated fighter will fight Cory Sandhagen this weekend at the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi. Ahead of the fight, Daniel Cormier made some interesting revelations about Nurmagomedov’s skill set.
Khabib Nurmagomedov opened the way for other rights from the Dagestani region to chase their dreams of becoming MMA fighters. After his retirement, Islam Makhachev took his position and became the lightweight champion. Now, Makhachev is regarded as a better version of Khabib Nurmagomedov with great striking skills. However, Daniel Cormier believes Umar Nurmagomedov might surpass them both.
Umar is the next level of that [Khabib & Islam] where he possesses the striking, he possesses the wrestling but he’s also got great grappling. His striking, he can do more….These Russian guys just keep jumping levels
Daniel Cormier via Good guy/Bad Guy
DC has trained with Khabib Nurmagomedov for a long time at the AKA gym. Cormier has also helped Nurmagomedov with his striking early in his career. He has seen all the Dagestani fighters up close for years. As a former double champion, DC is quite qualified to point out fighters with extraordinary skills. He was right about Makhachev, he could be right about Umar Nurmagomedov too.
Daniel Cormier says Umar Nurmagomedov is an upgraded version of Khabib and Islam Makhachev😳🦅
“Umar is the next level of that [Khabib & Islam] where he possesses the striking, he possesses the wrestling but he’s also got great grappling.”
“These Russian guys just keep jumping… pic.twitter.com/wcVf5sk6Qn
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) August 1, 2024
Umar Nurmagomedov has already established a name for himself, with champion Sean O’Malley talking about potentially fighting him. However, before that, the fighter will have to go against Cory Sandhagen this weekend. As far as Sandhagen, he’s not taking Nurmagomedov rightly at all.
Cory Sandhagen reveals what makes Umar Nurmagomedov different from Khabib Nurmagomedov
Umar Nurmagomedov is currently the #10 fighter in the division, but nobody wants to fight him. As a result, he was given the opportunity to fight the #2 fighter, Cory Sandhagen. Many had raised questions about Nurmagomedov getting a shot like this without proving himself. The Dagestani bantamweight recently responded to the critics with a befitting reply showing the hypocrisy in the MMA community.
Cory Sandhagen talks about Umar Nurmagomedov being different from Khabib Nurmagomedov (via Imago/X)Cory Sandhagen, on the other hand, mentioned that a win against Nurmagomedov would give him the title. ‘Sandman’ believes Nurmagomedov is a more all-round fighter than other Dagestani fighters such as Khabib Nurmagomedov. Sandhagen believes Nurmagomedov can create problems with his punches and kicks, too.
Just coming from that region, of course, all people expect you to be a great grappler. The most unique thing about him is his striking style. His grappling is pretty by-the-book Dagestani style. The striking is really something that makes him different from other guys. The type of technique that he uses, the kicks that he uses… that’s what makes him different from those guys
Cory Sandhagen via SHAK MMA
😳🥊Cory Sandhagen thinks that Umar Nurmagomedov is a better striker than wrestler.
“Just coming from that region [Dagestan], of course, all people expect you to be a great grappler. The most unique thing about him is his striking style. His grappling is pretty by-the-book… pic.twitter.com/kAbDe3MI5S
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) July 30, 2024
Sandhagen has also talked about Nurmagomedov’s lack of cardio and exploiting it to beat him this weekend. Nurmagomedov is undefeated in his professional career and highly confident about his win. The fighter already looks past Sandhagen and has talked about fighting Sean O’Malley for the title. It would be interesting to see if Sandhagen can give Nurmagomedov his first professional loss.
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