Umar Nurmagomedov critiques his performance against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi: “I’m not happy”

Umar Nurmagomedov feels he didn’t perform up to his standards against Cory Sandhagen despite a victory to close UFC Abu Dhabi.

Nurmagomedov vs. Sandhagen was a pivotal clash in the bantamweight division. Each fighter knew that a win could catapult them to a 135-pound title shot.

Umar emerged victorious via unanimous decision, but the fight had too many dicey moments for his liking.

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Umar Nurmagomedov Reveals What He Must Work on Following UFC Abu Dhabi

During the UFC Abu Dhabi post-fight press conference, Umar Nurmagomedov wasn’t shy in admitting that despite the win, things didn’t always go as planned against Cory Sandhagen (h/t MMAJunkie.com).

“I’m not happy,” Nurmagomedov told reporters at the UFC on ABC 7 post-fight interview. “It was a good performance on the striking, but if we’re talking about grappling and how I control him, it was not good.

“I thought I would maul him on the ground, but he’s tough, he’s good. Cody is too good and has hard kicks, and he’s a tough man. I think he has more experience than me in the UFC cage, but I win, and I’m happy today I win.”

Umar can hold his head up in a sense that he remains undefeated and has a title shot coming his way, per Kevin Iole’s chat with UFC CEO Dana White. Nurmagomedov will now be game planning for the winner of the bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, which will take place at UFC 306 on September 14th.

For now, Umar will get a chance to rest up and see who is at the top of the bantamweight mountain by mid-September. Umar has revealed plans to attend the O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili title fight next month.