Usman Nurmagomedov News

Harry Kettle - September 9, 2024

Khabib Nurmagomedov started choking Umar Nurmagomedov, seemingly out of anxiety, while watching Usman Nurmagomedov compete last week. Last week, Usman Nurmagomedov defeated Alexander Shabliy with a dominant unanimous decision triumph to successfully retain his Bellator lightweight championship. It was a really solid display and in his corner, he had Umar Nurmagomedov and the great Khabib Nurmagomedov there to guide him through the contest.

Fernando Quiles - September 8, 2024

Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov believes he is the future of MMA. Nurmagomedov put his 155-pound hardware at stake against Alexandr Shabliy in the main event of Bellator Champions Series 4 this past Saturday. The Dagestan bruiser earned a unanimous decision win to maintain his hold on the gold and improve his pro MMA record to 18-0, 1 NC.

Fernando Quiles - September 6, 2024

Usman Nurmagomedov has weighed in on the pound-for-pound debate. At the top of the official UFC pound-for-pound rankings currently is UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. UFC light heavyweight titleholder Alex Pereira has the number two spot, while Jon Jones sits at number three.

Harry Kettle - September 4, 2024

MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov believes his cousin Usman Nurmagomedov is the future of the sport. As we know, it’s been an interesting time for Usman Nurmagomedov as of late. While he may be a world champion in Bellator, he’s also had to deal with a suspected doping violation. Despite that, he is set to return to the cage this weekend when he defends his crown against Alexandr Shabliy.

Josh Evanoff - June 18, 2024

Bellator MMA’s schedule for September is heating up, as it now includes the return of Usman Nurmagomedov. Fans are now six months into PFL’s ownership of Bellator. Last fall, the Donn Davis-led promotion purchased the company from Viacom but had no plans to get rid of the company. Instead, each brand has run events separately in 2024, but have featured a lot of overlap. Names such as Cedric Doumbe have jumped back-and-forth, and that will likely only continue.

Cole Shelton - November 11, 2023

Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov has failed a drug test. Multiple sources informed BJPENN.com that Nurmagomedov tested positive for an unknown substance and his fight against Brent Primus has been overturned to a No Contest. As well, sources informed BJPENN.com that Primus will now go forward in the Bellator lightweight grand prix, while the belief is Usman Nurmagomedov will be stripped of the lightweight title. Nurmagomedov has also been handed a six month suspension.

Chris Taylor - October 7, 2023

Tonight’s Bellator 300 event was headlined by a lightweight title fight between Usman Nurmagomedov and Brent Primus. Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA) was looking to earn his second straight lightweight title defense when he took to the cage this evening in California. The undefeated Russian had earned a first-round submission victory over former UFC champion Benson Henderson in his most previous effort at Bellator 292.

Chris Taylor - October 7, 2023

We have you covered for all of tonight’s Bellator 300 results, including the lightweight title fight between Usman Nurmagomedov and Brent Primus. Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA) will be looking to earn his second straight lightweight title defense this evening in California. The undefeated Russian earned a first-round submission victory over former UFC champion Benson Henderson in his most previous effort at Bellator 292.

Cole Shelton - October 2, 2023

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will be in the corner of his teammate Usman Nurmagomedov this weekend at Bellator 300. Velasquez has been out on bail for nearly a year after spending months in jail following charges that included attempted murder. Part of the bail was Velasquez would have to wear GPS tracking. He must also comply with a protective order 300 yards away from the victims in the case and have travel restrictions.

Cole Shelton - August 4, 2023

Bellator will be holding its 300 event and Usman Nurmagomedov will be defending his lightweight title on the card. Multiple sources informed BJPENN.com that Nurmagomedov will defend his title against Brent Primus, which also serves as the semifinals of the Bellator lightweight grand prix at Bellator 300. The event is set to go down on October 7 in San Diego, California. One source said this event could see multiple title fights on the card as it could be the final event in Bellator history. It’s also unclear if this fight will be the main event of the historic and potential final Bellator event.

Susan Cox - March 17, 2023

Usman Nurmagomedov and Benson Henderson were the top earners in the disclosed Bellator 292 salaries. The disclosed fight purses for Bellator 292 have been revealed by the California State Athletic Commission and Nurmagomedov and Henderson both earned six-figure pay checks.

Chris Taylor - March 10, 2023

Usman Nurmagomedov puts his lightweight title on the line against former UFC champion Benson Henderson in tonight’s Bellator 292 main event. Nurmagomedov (17-0 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since claiming the lightweight world title with a unanimous decision victory over Patricky Pitbull. The Russian phenom has gone 5-0 since joining the Bellator ranks in April of 2021.

Zain Bando - November 18, 2022

In the co-main event of Bellator 288, Patricky Pitbull fought Usman Nurmagomedov for the promotions lightweight strap. Nurmagomedov, 15-0, is the cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov and had a chance to deliver on the family legacy this evening. Usman entered tonight’s contest having won his last three fights in a row by way of first-round stoppages (2 subs, 1 TKO).

Josh Evanoff - November 17, 2022

Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire is fine with being the underdog against Usman Nurmagomedov. The Brazilian is set to make his first title defense tomorrow night at Bellator 288. Freire famously captured the belt in his rematch with Peter Queally last November. In that outing, he won by second-round knockout, finally winning gold after a decade in the promotion.

Josh Evanoff - August 11, 2022

Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull has his first assignment as champion. He will face Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 288 in November. The Brazilian captured the Bellator lightweight strap with a knockout win over Peter Queally in November 2021. The win avenged a previous defeat to the Irishman from that May. With that, Pitbull joined his brother, Patricio, as a Bellator titleholder.

Cole Shelton - July 18, 2022

Chris Gonzalez always wanted to fight Usman Nurmagomedov ever since both men signed with Bellator. At Bellator 283, Gonzalez is set to face Nurmagomedov in a crucial lightweight scrap and one that Gonzalez has wanted.

Chris Taylor - October 23, 2021

MMA returns to Moscow this evening with Bellator 269, a ten-bout fight card headlined by heavyweights Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Johnson. Emelianenko (39-6 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since December of 2019, where he earned a first round knockout victory over Quinton ‘Rampage‘ Jackson. ‘The Last Emperor’ has gone 3-2 over his past five fights overall.

Tom Taylor - August 4, 2020

Ali Abdelaziz, the CEO of MMA management firm Dominance MMA, says that undefeated lightweight prospect Usman Nurmagomedov is even better than his cousin, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Speaking to Andy Whitelaw of Asian MMA, Abdelaziz was asked to identify the brightest prospects he currently represents—prospects like Khamzat Chimaev, who recently burst into the limelight in the UFC.