Usman Nurmagomedov planning move to UFC in a couple of years: ‘I’m waiting for Islam to finish his career’
Usman Nurmagomedov is a man with a plan.
Younger brother of UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov and cousin to lightweight GOAT Khabib Nurmagomedov, the undefeated Usman is currently the Bellator 155-pound champion. Recently, Usman Nurmagomedov successfully defended his title against Alexander Shabliy at in September, cementing himself as one of the best lightweights on Earth. But his ambition doesn’t stop there.
Speaking recently about his future plans, Nurmagomedov revealed he hopes to follow in his cousin’s footsteps by making the move to the octagon once training partner and UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is done.
“I’m waiting for Islam to finish his career and then I will [go after the UFC title],” Nurmagomedov said on Gorilla Fighting’s YouTube. “I think if we get it right, we’ll be fighting in the UFC at 28. I’m 26 years old right now. Two years, I’ll get stronger and that’s it. Go into the UFC at 28 and compete until I’m 32.”
Undefeated for nearly a decade, Makhachev is currently the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA, with three successful lightweight title defenses to his name. Before winning the belt, Makhachev found himself in a similar situation to Usman, serving as “the next man up” to Khabib Nurmagomedov. That played out exactly to the plan of the legendary coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who developed all of these fighters, and according to Khabib, that plan also extended to Usman.
“This is what Abdulmanap envisioned,” Khabib said. “He strongly believed in Usman and always said that he would be the future champion. I didn’t see the potential when he was 16 years old. I saw the prospects and I believed, and from the very beginning, my father believed in it all, believed in Usman’s future.”
Of course, Nurmagomedov’s intention to go to the UFC is not exactly great news for the Bellator or its owner, the PFL. However, speaking with MMA Fighting on Wednesday, PFL co-founder Donn Davis dismissed this as a concern for the promotion.
“How many of you have said you’re going to move to Florida and retire in four years, and how many of you do it?” Davis said. “One in 10? One in five? ... People say things all the time, and then they don’t do it.
“So might he go? Might not he go? Might he go in two years? Might he go in five years? Might he be the champion? Might not he be the champion? My goal is to make my man Usman happy. My goal is to make my man Usman successful, financially rich, and a champion, so that in two years he forgets he said this today.”
Whatever happens in two years, for the time being, Nurmagomedov remains signed with Bellator, where his next fight is likely a title defense against Paul Hughes, following the Irishman’s win over A.J. McKee at PFL Battle of the Giants this past Saturday.