Abu Dhabi — Returning at UFC 321 this Saturday in Abu Dhabi, you might look at Umar Nurmagomedov as a man with two targets at the moment.
First and foremost, there’s his fight with Mario Bautista, a surging 135lb’er ranked #9 in the weight class and sitting on an eight-fight win streak. Bautista has been winning against increasingly impressive names, including UFC legend Jose Aldo and Bellator champ Patchy Mix.
Of course, as Nurmagomedov (18-1) pointed out during Wednesday’s UFC 321 media day, “Jose Aldo, long time not in his prime; he’s an old man, he’s a legend. Patchy Mix, I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but Mario Bautista was much better than both— with Jose Aldo, it was a close fight. It was close, but with Patchy Mix he showed a very good fight. Even with other guys too, he’s a good striker. He’s a good striker, all the time moving, he’s talented.”
Nurmagomedov is happy to give Bautista the respect he’s due, it seems. What he’d also like, however, is a rematch with champion Merab Dvalishvili. Their first meeting came this past January, with all three judges scoring the fight for Merab. The result was the first setback of Nurmagomedov’s career, and he’s very interested in running it back.
“Of course, if we’re both gonna win, it’s a very interesting fight for all fans and for UFC. But I don’t want to wait too long,” stated Nurmagomedov. “I want to be active, and we’ll see what the UFC’s going to ask. We’ll see after this fight. If it’s going to be possible, I’m going to fight in January or February.”
With Dvalishvili booking another rematch, against Petr Yan in December, the timing here could be a factor. And Nurmagomedov seems to believe the champ is stalling, saying he needs to win two or three times before any second fight is granted.
“If you ask to him, I think he would say ‘he has to fight 10 times’ until he’s retired,” suggested Nurmagomedov. “It’s just his mind, his opinion. He can say whatever he wants, but reality is going to be different.”
He would later agree, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press, that a lot of it comes down to the challenge he presented in their January encounter.
“I know, everybody knows why he’s talking like this. Because he knows what’s going to happen in the fight next [time]. He knows it was very close. It’s funny, for everyone, not just for me. Everybody can see.”
Watch the full UFC 321 media day appearance by Umar Nurmagomedov above.
