February 15, 2025
Islam Makhachev reacts to Umar Nurmagomedov’s title loss at UFC 311: ‘One day he’ll be UFC champion’
MMA

Islam Makhachev reacts to Umar Nurmagomedov’s title loss at UFC 311: ‘One day he’ll be UFC champion’

January 18, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Merab Dvalishvili (red gloves) fights Umar Nurmagomedov (blue gloves) during UFC 311 at Intuit Dome. Mandatory attribution: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

January 18, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Merab Dvalishvili (red gloves) fights Umar Nurmagomedov (blue gloves) during UFC 311 at Intuit Dome. Mandatory attribution: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Islam Makhachev clearly wasn’t happy that Umar Nurmagomedov came up short in the biggest fight of his career. However, that hasn’t changed his assessment of Nurmagomedov’s potential.

Makhachev, who successfully defended his UFC lightweight title in the main event of UFC 311, watched his close friend and teammate lose to champion Merab Dvalishvili shortly before his fight in Saturday’s co-main event at the Intuit Dome.

It wasn’t easy being there on the eve of his own championship fight, but Makhachev is confident Nurmagomedov will return and win UFC gold this time.

“Honestly, it was hard,” Makhachev said at the UFC 311 post-fight press conference. “I’m trying to warm up but I’m still watching the fights. Maybe it made me a little sad, but Umar is still young and still hungry. He has time. Because he is still young, he made some mistakes in this fight and.” Merab did his job very well, and Umar did not suffer any damage and he also broke his arm.

“He will 100 percent come back because he is still hungry and one day he will be UFC champion, I’m sure.”

Nurmagomedov, cousin of former UFC star Khabib, entered UFC 311 with an undefeated record. He was the favorite to win the belt and defeat Dvalishvili, but was overwhelmed over the course of 25 minutes, losing a unanimous decision 48-47, 48-47, 49-6.

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For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s UFC 311 event hub.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Islam Makhachev reacts to Umar Nurmagomedov’s UFC 311 title loss: “One day he’ll be UFC champion”

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