The Dagestanis have dominated the UFC’s lightweight division for a while now. Khabib Nurmagomedov took over the lightweight division and retired undefeated, closely followed by now reigning champion Islam Makhachev. Now, it looks like they have a plan to continue this legacy with Usman Nurmagomedov from Team Khabib entering UFC as revealed by Umar Nurmagomedov.
Usman Nurmagomedov is a top contender in Bellator MMA. He currently holds the Bellator lightweight world championship. He boasts a professional MMA record of 17 wins and 0 losses, with one no-contest. Usman is Khabib’s cousin and as per Umar’s statement, a potential torchbearer of the UFC lightweight championship.
After Islam we have plan for Usman… i don’t know what’s gonna be future, but its goal.
Umar Nurmagomedov on HOSHEH MMA
The UFC’s lightweight division is currently ruled by Islam Makhachev with three title defenses under his belt. Usman is a close friend and teammate of Islam Makhachev. They have trained together under Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
Rumors were going on about Makhachev retiring from the UFC. However, the Dagestani dispelled all rumors when he revealed plans to expand his title reign to another division and become a two-division UFC champion. It will be interesting to see if the Dagestani fighters can take over the UFC.
Rafael dos Anjos speaks on Islam Makhachev wanting to move up to welterweight
Rafael dos Anjos does not think Islam Makhachev’s hopes of becoming a UFC double champion would be fulfilled in a higher weight class. Makhachev had previously revealed plans to move up to welterweight to fight former reigning champion, Leon Edwards.
Rafael dos Anjos on Islam Makhachev’s two division championship plans (Image via Imago)He recently did an interview on Submission Radio. Dos Anjos believes it would be difficult for the Dagestani to fight at a higher weight class. He also talked about Poirier and Makhachev’s recent title showdown at UFC 302.
Islam Makhachev choked out Dustin Poirier in the final round of their main event showdown. Dos Anjos said that Poirier’s weak point was his submission defense and that was what Makhachev took advantage of. However, Belal Muhammad took over the welterweight title after UFC 304. It will be interesting to see how the dynamic of Makhachev’s potential move to welterweight changes now that the reigning champion is a wrestler and has trained with Khabib Nurmagomedov and team.
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