UFC News: Umar Nurmagomedov's Mystery Opponent Finally Revealed

Originally posted on FanNation MMA Knockout
By Christopher De Santiago | Last updated 2/9/24

Not many fighters are lining up to fight Umar Nurmagomedov.

Cousin to the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov, Umar is also undefeated with a perfect 16-0 record. The UFC bantamweight was slated to face a top contender in Cory Sandhagen his last time out but withdrew due to undisclosed reasons.

Back to the drawing board, Nurmagomedov's been struggling to find an opponent... that is, until now. Just last week, the prospect said he finally got a fight and now we know exactly who he's up against.

Nurmagomedov will reportedly meet UFC newcomer Bekzat Almakhan at a UFC Fight Night event on Mar. 2. The matchup takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The news was first reported by 'X' user 'Frontkicked' on Friday, with Almakhan's management later confirming the report.

Almakhan (17-1) looks to have been brought in to the promotion for Nurmagomedov. The Kazakhstan fighter's UFC signing was announced on Jan. 30, the same exact day Nurmagomedov said he had a fight booked.

Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz says it's been a hassle trying to find his client an opponent.

"I never seen UFC working hard[er] to find somebody to fight," Abdelaziz wrote on 'X '. "He’s a lot more harder to get fight for [than] Islam [Makhachev], Kamaru Usman, and Khabib [Nurmagomedov]."

The 26 year-old Bekzat Almakhan is riding an impressive nine-fight win streak and has only lost once in his entire 18-fight career. He's coming off a TKO win over Yan Ferraz in November at Octagon 52.

Umar Nurmagomedov's career has no blemishes so far and he'll try to keep it that way when he meets his next opponent inside the Octagon.

This article first appeared on FanNation MMA Knockout and was syndicated with permission.

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