# Umar Nurmagomedov

Umar Magomednabiyevich Nurmagomedov (Russian: Умар Магомеднабиевич Нурмагомедов; born January 3, 1996) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Nurmagomedov has previously competed in the Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC) and Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is the older brother of Bellator champion Usman Nurmagomedov and a cousin of undefeated former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. As of January 21, 2025, he is #3 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.

## Background

Nurmagomedov was born in Kizilyurt, Dagestan, Russia on January 3, 1996.
As a child, living in his native village, with his brother Usman Nurmagomedov, he began to attend freestyle wrestling practice. Later, Umar began practicing Thai boxing, and his brother followed suit.
After moving to Makhachkala, Umar began training with his uncle, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov at the Eagles MMA camp. He is of Avar ethnic origin.
At the age of 19, Umar became a combat sambo world champion, winning the -62 kg division at the WCSF World Championships. The following year, he won the bantamweight division in amateur mixed martial arts at the WMMAA World Championship.

## Mixed martial arts career
### Early career

He made his debut in Moscow as part of the Fight Nights Global 57 on December 16, 2016, against Rishat Kharisov. Umar won via second round guillotine choke. In his sophomore performance, Umar fought Ulukbek Amanbaev at Fight Star: Battle on Sura 6 on January 5, 2017, winning inside the first round by the way of rear-naked choke. Returning to Fight Nights Global for his next 4 bouts; Umar defeated Alym Isabaev at Fight Nights Global 62 by TKO stoppage in the second round, Valisher Rakhmonov by second round rear-naked choke at Fight Nights Global 71, Nauruz Dzamikhov by unanimous decision at Fight Nights Global 76 and finally Shyudi Yamauchi by unanimous decision at Fight Nights Global 83. Moving over to Samara MMA Federation (now known as Eagle FC), on May 11, 2018, Umar won the FMMAS Bantamweight Championship against Fatkhidin Sobirov at Samara at the Battle on Volga 4, winning the title and the bout by unanimous decision.
On August 30, 2018, Nurmagomedov fought at PFL 7 against future UFC fighter Saidyokub Kakhramonov, winning the bout by unanimous decision.
Returning to Samara MMA Federation, Umar defended his title at Battle on the Volga 10 on April 14, 2019, where he defeated Brazilian Wagner Lima by unanimous decision. With his title once again on the line (with Samara MMA Federation changing its name to Gorilla Fighting Championship), Umar defeated Taras Gryckiv at GFC 14 on July 13, 2019, by rear-naked choke in the first round.
Umar made his return to PFL, competing at PFL 6 on August 8, 2019, where Umar defeated Sidemar Honorio by unanimous decision.
On November 23, 2019, in the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Umar defended his title against Argentine fighter Brian Gonzalez, defeating his opponent via rear-naked choke at the end of the first round.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

Nurmagomedov was scheduled to face Hunter Azure on April 18, 2020, at UFC 249. However, the event was then postponed.
Nurmagomedov was scheduled to face Nathaniel Wood on 26 July 2020 at UFC on ESPN 14. However, Nurmagomedov withdrew from the bout due to his uncle Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov's passing.
Nurmagomedov was initially scheduled to face Sergey Morozov on October 24, 2020, at UFC 254, but Nurmagomedov pulled out due to an illness. The pairing was then rescheduled for UFC 257 on January 24, 2021. However, the bout was yet again rescheduled the second time on January 20, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny. Nurmagomedov won the bout via a rear-naked choke in the second round. This bout earned him the Performance of the Night bonus.
Nurmagomedov faced Brian Kelleher on March 5, 2022, at UFC 272. He won the fight via a rear naked choke in round one.
Nurmagomedov was scheduled to face Jack Shore on March 19, 2022, at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall. However, Nurmagomedov was removed from the bout for unknown reason and he was replaced by Timur Valiev.
Nurmagomedov faced Nate Maness on June 25, 2022, at UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot. He won via unanimous decision.
Nurmagomedov faced Raoni Barcelos on January 14, 2023, at UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night bonus.
Nurmagomedov was scheduled to face Cory Sandhagen on August 5, 2023, at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font. However, Nurmagomedov withdrew from the event mid-July due to shoulder injury, and was replaced by Rob Font.
Nurmagomedov faced promotional newcomer Bekzat Almakhan on March 2, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 238. After being clipped early in the first round, Nurmagomedov took over and dominated the majority of the bout on the ground with strikes leading to a victory by unanimous decision.
Nurmagomedov faced Cory Sandhagen on August 3, 2024, at UFC on ABC 7 in a bantamweight title eliminator. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Nurmagomedov was scheduled to face Song Yadong in the main event on December 14, 2024 at UFC on ESPN 63. However, the bout was scrapped due to Yadong's injury.
Nurmagomedov faced champion Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC Bantamweight Championship on January 18, 2025 at UFC 311. He lost the fight by unanimous decision, marking his first loss in MMA. This fight earned him his first Fight of the Night award.

## Grappling career

Nurmagomedov was scheduled to compete against former two-time Bellator Bantamweight World Champion Eduardo Dantas in a no-gi featherweight grappling match on October 25, 2024 in the main event at ADXC 6 but the bout was cancelled.

## Championships and accomplishments
### Amateur mixed martial arts

* World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA)
** World Champion (2016 at bantamweight)

### Professional mixed martial arts

* Ultimate Fighting Championship
** Fight of the Night (One time) vs Merab Dvalishvili
** Performance of the Night (Two times) vs Sergey Morozov and Raoni Barcelos
** Second highest control time percentage in UFC Bantamweight division history (44.5%)
** Highest top position percentage in UFC Bantamweight division history (42.4%)
** Highest significant strike accuracy percentage in UFC Bantamweight division history (63.1%)
** Second highest striking differential in UFC Bantamweight division history (3.0)
* Eagle Fighting Championship
** GF Bantamweight Championship (One time)
*** Three successful title defences

### Sambo

* World Combat Sambo Federation
** World Champion (2015 at -62 kg)

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 19 matches | 18 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 2 | 0 |
| By submission | 7 | 0 |
| By decision | 9 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 18–1 | Merab Dvalishvili | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 311 | January 18, 2025 | 5 | 5:00 | Inglewood, California, United States | For the UFC Bantamweight Championship. Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 18–0 | Cory Sandhagen | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ABC: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov | August 3, 2024 | 5 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | UFC Bantamweight title eliminator. |
| Win | 17–0 | Bekzat Almakhan | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev | March 2, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 16–0 | Raoni Barcelos | KO (body kick and punch) | UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov | January 14, 2023 | 1 | 4:40 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 15–0 | Nate Maness | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot | June 25, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Return to Bantamweight. |
| Win | 14–0 | Brian Kelleher | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 272 | March 5, 2022 | 1 | 3:15 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Featherweight debut. |
| Win | 13–0 | Sergey Morozov | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny | January 20, 2021 | 2 | 3:39 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 12–0 | Braian Gonzalez | Submission (rear-naked choke) | GFC 20 | November 23, 2019 | 1 | 4:34 | Tashkent, Uzbekistan | Defended the GF Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 11–0 | Sidemar Honorio | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 6 (2019) | August 8, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 10–0 | Taras Gryckiv | Submission (rear-naked choke) | GFC 14 | July 23, 2019 | 1 | 2:46 | Kaspiysk, Russia | Defended the GF Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 9–0 | Wagner Lima | Decision (unanimous) | Samara MMA Federation: Battle on the Volga 10 | April 14, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Toliatti, Russia | Defended the FMMAS Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 8–0 | Saidyokub Kakhramonov | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 7 (2018) | August 30, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | Catchweight (140 lb) bout. |
| Win | 7–0 | Fatkhidin Sobirov | Decision (unanimous) | Samara MMA Federation: Battle on the Volga 4 | May 11, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Samara, Russia | Won the inaugural FMMAS Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 6–0 | Shyudi Yamauchi | Decision (unanimous) | Fight Nights Global 83 | February 22, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Win | 5–0 | Nauruz Dzamikhov | Decision (unanimous) | Fight Nights Global 76 | October 8, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Krasnodar, Russia | |
| Win | 4–0 | Valisher Rakhmonov | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Fight Nights Global 71 | July 29, 2017 | 2 | 4:45 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Win | 3–0 | Alym Isabaev | TKO (punches) | Fight Nights Global 62 | March 31, 2017 | 2 | 3:32 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Ulukbek Amanbaev | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Fight Stars: Battle on Sura 6 | January 5, 2017 | 1 | 4:12 | Penza, Russia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Rishat Kharisov | Submission (guillotine choke) | Fight Nights Global 57 | December 16, 2016 | 2 | 3:28 | Moscow, Russia | Bantamweight debut. |