‘I Don’t Think I Lost’ – Umar Nurmagomedov Makes Bold Statement Following UFC 311 Defeat
Umar Nurmagomedov thinks he did enough to leave Los Angeles with the bantamweight belt.
The little cousin of lightweight legend Khabib Nurmagomedov suffered the first loss of his mixed martial arts career on Saturday night after reigning 135-pound titleholder Merab Dvalishvili shut him down during the championship rounds.
It was a tough pill for the now 18-1 fighter to swallow, as evidenced by his comments on Instagram 24 hours after the loss.
“There are no excuses,” Nurmagomedov wrote. “InshaAllah I will become the champion. The rest is not important. Praise Allah in any situation. And I don’t think I’ve lost this battle even if the whole world will convince me otherwise.
“Deal with the injuries and get back on track. InshaAllah.”
During his post-fight interview, Nurmagomedov revealed that he had broken his hand at some point in the opening round. Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, later shared a snapshot of the Dagestani’s swollen appendage on social media.
Khabib sends a word of encouragement to Umar Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was in the corner for his cousin’s first UFC title opportunity, shared some words of encouragement following the setback.
“@umar_nurmagomedov keep your head up Junior, you showed yesterday that you are one of the best in the world, at the moment we have a lot to work on, work on the mistakes and get back to the title race,” Khabib wrote.
