Umar Nurmagomedov says the knockout loss to Song Yadong didn’t change a thing about where he thinks his career is headed. Speaking to Red Corner MMA, the Dagestani contender insisted the UFC belt is still the target and always has been.
“Since I decided to become a fighter, my dream of becoming a UFC champion has never weakened,” Nurmagomedov said.
He also pushed back on the idea that a loss sends him into some kind of spiral. “I’ve always tried to improve in every aspect of the sport. It was never like ‘Oh, I lost…’ I’ve always worked hard,” he told the outlet. Sherdog picked up the interview, and LowKickMMA framed his comments as a brutal admission about his title dreams. Read the actual words, though, and it sounds a lot more like a guy who plans to keep grinding than a guy confessing anything.
Next stop is a wrestling mat, not the Octagon
Nurmagomedov won’t wait long to compete again, though it won’t be in a cage. He makes his Real American Freestyle debut this Saturday, Nov. 14, at RAF Abu Dhabi, where he wrestles UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber at 155 pounds. The event runs at Etihad Arena with a start time of 11 a.m. ET on FOX Nation.
The card picked up a new headliner on Monday. Colby Covington withdrew from his match with Khamzat Chimaev, and RAF did not disclose the reason. Chris Weidman, the former UFC middleweight champion and two-time NCAA Division I All-American, steps in, with the RAF Light Heavyweight Crossover Championship on the line at 215 pounds. Covington had just been tapped by Raul Rosas Jr. in 40 seconds at a HYPE Fighting Championship grappling event in Rome on Nov. 7. Chimaev’s response on X was “Colbi is not coming, he is scared.”
Nurmagomedov has plenty of UFC company on the 13-match lineup. Arman Tsarukyan meets Neiman Gracie in a catchweight crossover, Zabit Magomedsharipov takes on Giga Chikadze at 165 pounds, Merab Dvalishvili faces Marlon Moraes at a catchweight and Julianna Peña wrestles Diana Avsaragova at 150 pounds. Olympic and world-level names like Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Kyle Dake, Jordan Burroughs and Kyle Snyder fill out the rest.
No UFC return date for Nurmagomedov has been announced in the reporting so far.
Sal’s take
I like the attitude, and I like even more that he isn’t sitting at home rewatching the Song fight for six months. What I won’t do is treat a freestyle match against Faber as evidence of anything about his title path. Nobody ever doubted that Nurmagomedov can wrestle. The question coming out of the Song loss is about what happens when someone lands clean on him in an MMA fight, and no wrestling mat in Abu Dhabi answers that. If you see anyone pricing a win over Faber this weekend as a sign he’s back in the title picture, keep your wallet in your pocket. The fight that actually moves his stock is whatever the UFC hands him next, and until that bout gets booked, Saturday is a paycheck and a decent workout.
