Sean O’Malley had a vested interest in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event because the winner could end up as the next challenger for his bantamweight title.
In the end, Umar Nurmagomedov earned an impressive unanimous decision win over Cory Sandhagen to vault himself near the top of the division and potentially solidify his position as the No. 1 contender. O’Malley credited Nurmagomedov on a job well done, especially knowing how much respect he had for Sandhagen as a fighter.
“It looked like [Nurmagomedov] did win but again that was a very close fight,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “Cory is, in my opinion, one of the best pound-for-pound guys in the world, so for Umar to be ranked No. 10 — which, a lot of the guys wouldn’t fight him, so I’m not surprised that he didn’t have that many high-level fights up until this or at least high-level, popular opponents. No one in the UFC wanted to fight this guy.
“Incredible performance by both guys really. Cory did a really good job shutting down Umar’s offensive takedowns and wrestling. Striking was pretty close. Umar looked like he landed harder shots. That’s as high level of a fight as it gets.”
Nurmagomedov’s win along with his growing popularity could cement him as the perfect opponent to face O’Malley next — assuming the champ gets through Merab Dvalishvili in his next title defense at UFC 306 on September 14.
Nurmagomedov has piqued O’Malley’s interest, but there may be an even bigger reason to seek out and destroy Nurmagomedov in a title fight — it would drive Conor McGregor nuts.
“Me versus Umar next?” O’Malley said. “Hash tag, ‘We’ll see LOL.’ [Deiveson Figueiredo] called me out, Ilia [Topuria] and Max [Holloway] are going to fight soon. Undefeated Umar 18-0 versus undefeated ‘Suga Show’ 19-0, beat a Dagestani? I wouldn’t mind that.
“That would be a real good way to get at Conor. Imagine how jealous he would be? I might go whoop Umar just for that reason alone. Could be a potential massive next fight.”
Of course, McGregor has a long history with the Nurmagomedov family, having engaged in a fierce rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov before falling to him by rear-naked choke back in 2018. Even after the fight was finished, Nurmagomedov vaulted over the cage to attack one of McGregor’s coaches and a wild brawl broke out before security could intervene.
While Khabib is long since retired with no plans to return, his closest friends and family have carried on the legacy his late father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov started. Islam Makhachev reigns as UFC lightweight champion, Usman Nurmagomedov serves as lightweight king in Bellator, and now Umar may just be the next Nurmagomedov destined for greatness.
Meanwhile, O’Malley has recently targeted McGregor as a potential fight he’d like to pursue after his one-time idol suddenly became his rival following some ugly back-and-forth exchanges through interviews and social media.
Getting a win over a member of the Nurmagomedov clan — something McGregor was never able to do — might just be O’Malley’s way to get his attention.
That being said, the champ can’t lose sight of what’s actually ahead of him next.
O’Malley praised Dvalishvili as a worthy contender who deserves his full attention, but after another win, Nurmagomedov could just be the ideal opponent.
“I’ve got to get through Merab next obviously,” O’Malley said. “We all know how dangerous Merab is. The guy has a nine-fight win streak. He’s beat like five former champions. Dude is as legit as it gets.
“I just believe that I’ll put his lights out and [be] onto the next, so Umar can be next. But same before I fought ‘Chito’ [Marlon Vera], I couldn’t pick. Is Merab next? Is Merab next? I had to figure out ‘Chito’ first, which I did very easily some would say. I’ve got to go out, take Merab out, and we’ll what the ‘Suga Show’ has next.”
