Uncasville, CT — Magomed Magomedov continued his winning ways at Bellator 255, picking up his second win in the promotion, and fifth straight overall.
Moving to 18-1 as a pro, Magomedov has not lost since a 2017 loss to former UFC bantamweight champ Petr Yan. He holds a win over Yan as well. And as of Friday, he also has a submission win over Cee Jay Hamilton, who was filling in for former UFC fighter Jared Scoggins.
“I definitely showed you more this time, much more than last time, but it wasn’t 100%,” Magomedov assessed his performance, speaking backstage at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday. “I believe I will show you 100% of my skill set when I have a top five opponent next in the cage. But I’m glad that I got the victory.”
Moving up the rankings is key for the Russian, one of Bellator’s higher profile free agent signings. “I’m sure you guys and all the fans would like to see me with someone from the top five as well. Because I don’t want to fight with the guys ranked below me, I want to move forward and get closer to the title.”
Ahead of Bellator 255, Magomedov began training with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team. “This time I did a camp with Team Khabib. I’m grateful for all the guys who were helping me. Khabib, especially coach Javier [Mendez],” said Magomedov. “I’m grateful that they accepted me in their camp and allowed me to train with them. It was a great camp, you saw a lot of things on the ground that I showed you tonight, I learned in this camp. I improved a lot on the ground with them.”
A more well-rounded Magomedov should be a scary thought for whoever he faces next. As to who that might be, the bantamweight standout had some suggestions. “Juan Archuleta and [Sergio] Pettis, they’ve got to fight. I would like to fight with the winner of this fight, or with whoever loses that fight.” That pair face off in May, with Archuleta’s 135lb title on the line.
“If not, I would like to fight with the Irish kid, [James] Gallagher,” Magomedov continued. “Because he would like to fight for the title, I’ve heard. So let’s fight and let’s make it like a contender fight.” The one name Magomedov doesn’t want is Patchy Mix, given that they train on the same team.
Watch the full Bellator 255 post-fight media scrum with Magomed Magomedov above.
