[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] hopes [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] ends up fighting [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] for the UFC bantamweight title.
Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), who is Khabib’s cousin, emerged as the No. 1 contender after defeating Cory Sandhagen in the main event of Saturday’s UFC on ABC 7 in Abu Dhabi. He awaits the winner of the title fight between the bantamweight champion [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) and Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who will headline UFC 306 on September 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
“I want Merab, to be honest, because he is from Georgia,” Nurmagomedov said in a statement. UFC interview. “We are neighbors, Dagestan and Georgia. I want Merab to win because it will be a very interesting fight. White papakha against black papakha. But if O’Malley wins, it will be white papakha against pink papakha. It’s going to be a good competition for O’Malley , a very good fight, a high level fight for all the fans in the world.
“It’s not easy to beat Umar, and it’s not easy to beat Merab or Sean O’Malley. That’s a high level. Anything can happen, but in my opinion, Umar is ready. This fight put him another level above, and we’ll see. He’s still growing. He’s still learning. He’s only 28 years old and he’s still learning.
Dvalishvili is on a 10-fight unbeaten streak – including wins over former champions Jose Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo.
O’Malley knocked out Dvalishvili’s teammate Aljamain Sterling to become champion, then made his first title defense with a beating of Marlon Vera at UFC 299 in March.
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For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC on ABC 7.
This article was originally published on MMA Junkie: Sean O’Malley or Merab Dvalishvili? Khabib chooses who he would like Umar Nurmagomedov to fight for the UFC title
