Umar Nurmagomedov did more than enough to impress his fellow fighters.
The undefeated bantamweight kept his perfect record intact after five incredible rounds of action with top contender Cory Sandhagen. When the dust settled, it was Nurmagomedov who had his hand raised via a unanimous decision on the scorecards.
Nurmagomedov and Sandhagen’s fellow fighters were in awe at the action, with former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman declaring that Nurmagomedov deserves a title shot and former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez marveling at the mixed martial arts prowess on display.
The UFC bantamweight title is currently set to be defended at UFC 306, with champion Sean O’Malley taking on Merab Dvalishvili, who enters the Sept. 14 pay-per-view at Sphere in Las Vegas on a 10-fight win streak. Whoever emerges victorious from that highly-anticipated encounter, it looks like Nurmagomedov could be the next challenger in line.
See more of the best reactions from the MMA community on social media below.
Great fight. Umar is the truth! Title shot next #UFCAbuDhabi
— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) August 3, 2024
What a fight by both men so far
— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) August 3, 2024
Winner gets the shot no doubt #UFCAbuDhabi
High-level fight men. Great showing for the bantamweights and how skilled it is. Umar earns his title shot IMO. #UFCAbuDhabi
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) August 3, 2024
Amazing display of MMA here in the main event . We are getting to see 2 high level fighters display the entire game … Every single art
— Eddie Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) August 3, 2024
Amazing win for @UNmgdv Alhamdillah
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) August 3, 2024
Man these rounds are so close
— Dan Ige (@Dynamitedan808) August 3, 2024
This is one high level fight. Both men are in it.
— Ode' ⭕️sbourne (@OdeOsbourne) August 3, 2024
#UFCAbuDhabi
For Cory never really being a wrestler I was impressed congrats to Umar very high level fight
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) August 3, 2024
