Umar Nurmagomedov will finally (hopefully) make his octagon debut at UFC 257 next year.
On Tuesday, opponent Sergey Morozov, who was supposed to face Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 earlier this year, announced that the fight was back on. The bout will take place at UFC 257, the same card topped by Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2. While no location has been officially announced, all signs point to the even taking place on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
Nurmagomedov (12-0) previously competed for the PFL and Fight Nights Global. Since signing with the UFC, he has seen three fights fall through, against Hunter Azure, Nathaniel Wood, and Morozov. Most recently, Nurmagomedov dropped out of the UFC 254 date with Morozov due to a staph infection.
The coronavirus pandemic cancelled his original debut at UFC 249 against Azure, while the death of uncle Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov forced Umar out of the fight with Wood over the summer.
Morozov (16-3) will also be making his octagon debut in the fight. He’s a former M-1 bantamweight champion who will enter the fight in January on a five-fight win streak.
The UFC 257 card currently includes the following reported bouts:
Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier
Jessica Eye vs. Joanne Calderwood
Brad Tavares vs. Antônio Carlos Júnior
Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Ribas
Andrew Sanchez vs. Andre Muniz
Nasrat Haqparast vs. Arman Tsarukyan
Ottman Azaitar vs. Matt Frevola
Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Sergey Morozov
Shane Burgos vs. Hakeem Dawodu
Amir Albazi vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
