Usman Nurmagomedov is confident he can dominate both headliners at UFC 324.<\/p>\n
Following his win over Paddy Pimblett to become a two-time interim lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje will defend his 155-pound title this Saturday inside the Octagon. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov, who recently claimed the PFL lightweight championship for the second time by defeating Paul Hughes, is set to make his first title defense against Alfie Davies in Dubai.<\/p>\n
Before his upcoming fight on February 7th, Khabib Nurmagomedov\u2019s cousin shared his thoughts on the latest major UFC bouts in the lightweight division \u2014 and it\u2019s clear Usman was unimpressed.<\/p>\n
Many view the undefeated PFL champ, who stands at 20-0, as a future breakout star in the UFC. Khabib even suggests Usman has already reached the skill level of Ilia Topuria. During the break in competition for Ilia, Gaethje and Pimblett faced off in a widely watched UFC 324 bout to decide who would return as champion later in the year.<\/p>\n
While the matchup was exciting, Nurmagomedov criticized the skill level displayed. In a media session posted by Ushataika on YouTube, he said, “I\u2019m certain it would have ended early if either Gaethje or Pimblett fought me.” He also described their fight as looking like \u201ctwo drunken people fighting\u201d and questioned Pimblett\u2019s status, adding, “I never considered Pimblett a top-10 UFC fighter.”<\/p>\n
Regarding his eventual move to the UFC, Nurmagomedov\u2019s manager revealed that while the Dagestani star is currently content in the PFL\u2014where he earns a substantial income and is well treated\u2014he will only consider switching promotions once his contract expires, and only if the financial terms are right. “Usman is making good money in the PFL and is comfortable there,” said his manager, Abdelaziz. “If the UFC wants him, everyone must be satisfied, including PFL. He won\u2019t take a pay cut to join the UFC, just like Kayla Harrison didn’t.”<\/p>\n
Fan Take:<\/strong> Usman Nurmagomedov is confident he can dominate both headliners at UFC 324. Following his win over Paddy Pimblett to become a two-time interim lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje will defend his 155-pound title this Saturday inside the Octagon. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov, who recently claimed the PFL lightweight championship for the second time by defeating Paul Hughes, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2443],"tags":[2444],"class_list":{"0":"post-41439","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fighting","8":"tag-fighting"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nUsman Nurmagomedov\u2019s bold claims and impending UFC move are generating huge anticipation among fight fans who crave fresh, elite talent in the lightweight division. His arrival could shake up the landscape, bringing new rivalries and elevating the level of competition in the sport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"