It would be hard to draw up a more significant start to the year than what Usman Nurmagomedov and his teammates have lined up to begin 2025.
The Dagestan takeover in MMA could reach its peak this month with Nurmagomedov (18-0) set to put his Bellator lightweight title on the line against Paul Hughes (13-0) at Road to Dubai on Jan. 25, just one week after his brother, Umar, challenges Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC bantamweight title in the UFC 311 co-main event on Jan. 18, and Islam Makhachev puts his 155-pound strap on the line against Arman Tsarukyan in the headliner of the same card in Inglewood, Calif.
Scheduling for the respective championship has splintered training camps among the team. Khabib Nurmagomedov has headed the ship for Umar and Makhachev stateside in Las Vegas, while Usman remained at home in Dagestan. He considered joining his team in the U.S. for a portion of his training camp, but ultimately logistics ruled it out.
“It’s not too much travel,” Nurmagomedov told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “I had a little problem with my VISA. I got it, but I got it a little late, so that’s why I made the decision not to go to America. If I go there for 10 days, I will have jet lag then come back and have jet lag. I don’t want to lose some time. I just made the decision to stay in Dagestan because in Dagestan we have a lot of warriors, too, where I can work. So that’s why I stayed in Dagestan and did the whole camp here.
“Honestly, yes, for me it’s a little hard. I want to be there with Umar for his fight, first time for him fighting for a title. But any time it doesn’t matter. For me, it’s the most important that these guys will win. That’s what’s most important. Other things, this doesn’t matter.”
Usman said his expectation is for Umar and Makhachev to finish their respective opponents to leave UFC 311 with gold, then join him in Dubai as part of his corner team against Hughes.
It’s going to be agonizing for Usman to watch everything play out at UFC 311 from the other side of the globe, and he admits he’s more on edge and invested in the results for his older brother, Makhachev and another teammate in Tagir Ulanbekov than his own contest.
“Honestly, I’m more nervous about these guys fighting than my own,” Nurmagomedov said. “My fights, I don’t care even. I know what I can do, and I know my skills. I just have to go in the cage and referee will say, ‘Let’s start guys.’ I love this. I am more stressed and more nervous about Umar, about Islam, about Tagir and these guys. But with these guys, Khabib is there. Even if Khabib wasn’t there, it’s because I love these guys so much. That’s why I’m nervous. They will win, I believe.”
If all goes according to plan, the Nurmagomedov team will boast a high-level slate of champions by the end of the month: Usman in Bellator, Umar and Makhachev in the UFC, and also 2024 PFL lightweight champion Gadzhi Rabadanov.
It’s a dream scenario, Usman said, and he fully expects things to come to fruition.
“Can you imagine if we will begin this year with two UFC champions, one PFL champion, one Bellator champion?” Nurmagomedov said. “Phew. This is crazy.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator Champions Series: Road to Dubai.
