Umar Nurmagomedov advises UFC champ Sean O'Malley against move up for Ilia Topuria fight
Umar Nurmagomedov thinks UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria is a bad matchup for bantamweight champ Sean O'Malley.
Umar Nurmagomedov thinks Ilia Topuria is a bad matchup for Sean O'Malley.
Bantamweight champion O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) called out featherweight champ Topuria after his lopsided beating of Marlon Vera in the UFC 299 main event Saturday.
Nurmagomedov is not a fan of the callout, not only because he sees Merab Dvalishvili as a clear-cut No. 1 contender, but he sees undefeated Topuria being too dangerous for O’Malley.
“He’s talking about Ilia Topuria – for me, it doesn’t make sense,” Nurmagomedov told ESPN. “Ilia’s going to maybe kill this guy because he’s too big, and right now, Ilia’s too dangerous for him, I think. When you go up, change weight, for O’Malley, he’s going to lose nothing.
“He’s healthy. That’s maybe why he wants to go up – make some money. Even if he will lose, he’s going to stay champion at bantamweight, right? Right now, it makes sense in our division – the guy (with the 10-fight winning streak), Merab has to fight for the title.”
Nurmagomedov (17-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who’s coming off of a win over newcomer Bekzat Almakhan at UFC Fight Night 238, is hoping his previously scrapped bout with Cory Sandhagen gets rebooked next.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.