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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Sean O’Malley had a vested interest in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event because the winner could end up as the next challenger for his bantamweight title.

In the end, Umar Nurmagomedov earned an impressive unanimous decision win over Cory Sandhagen to vault himself near the top of the division and potentially solidify his position as the No. 1 contender. O’Malley credited Nurmagomedov on a job well done, especially knowing how much respect he had for Sandhagen as a fighter.

“It looked like [Nurmagomedov] did win but again that was a very close fight,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “Cory is, in my opinion, one of the best pound-for-pound guys in the world, so for Umar to be ranked No. 10 — which, a lot of the guys wouldn’t fight him, so I’m not surprised that he didn’t have that many high-level fights up until this or at least high-level, popular opponents. No one in the UFC wanted to fight this guy.

“Incredible performance by both guys really. Cory did a really good job shutting down Umar’s offensive takedowns and wrestling. Striking was pretty close. Umar looked like he landed harder shots. That’s as high level of a fight as it gets.”

Nurmagomedov’s win along with his growing popularity could cement him as the perfect opponent to face O’Malley next — assuming the champ gets through Merab Dvalishvili in his next title defense at UFC 306 on September 14.

Nurmagomedov has piqued O’Malley’s interest, but there may be an even bigger reason to seek out and destroy Nurmagomedov in a title fight — it would drive Conor McGregor nuts.

“Me versus Umar next?” O’Malley said. “Hash tag, ‘We’ll see LOL.’ [Deiveson Figueiredo] called me out, Ilia [Topuria] and Max [Holloway] are going to fight soon. Undefeated Umar 18-0 versus undefeated ‘Suga Show’ 19-0, beat a Dagestani? I wouldn’t mind that.

“That would be a real good way to get at Conor. Imagine how jealous he would be? I might go whoop Umar just for that reason alone. Could be a potential massive next fight.”

Of course, McGregor has a long history with the Nurmagomedov family, having engaged in a fierce rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov before falling to him by rear-naked choke back in 2018. Even after the fight was finished, Nurmagomedov vaulted over the cage to attack one of McGregor’s coaches and a wild brawl broke out before security could intervene.

While Khabib is long since retired with no plans to return, his closest friends and family have carried on the legacy his late father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov started. Islam Makhachev reigns as UFC lightweight champion, Usman Nurmagomedov serves as lightweight king in Bellator, and now Umar may just be the next Nurmagomedov destined for greatness.

Meanwhile, O’Malley has recently targeted McGregor as a potential fight he’d like to pursue after his one-time idol suddenly became his rival following some ugly back-and-forth exchanges through interviews and social media.

Getting a win over a member of the Nurmagomedov clan — something McGregor was never able to do — might just be O’Malley’s way to get his attention.

That being said, the champ can’t lose sight of what’s actually ahead of him next.

O’Malley praised Dvalishvili as a worthy contender who deserves his full attention, but after another win, Nurmagomedov could just be the ideal opponent.

“I’ve got to get through Merab next obviously,” O’Malley said. “We all know how dangerous Merab is. The guy has a nine-fight win streak. He’s beat like five former champions. Dude is as legit as it gets.

“I just believe that I’ll put his lights out and [be] onto the next, so Umar can be next. But same before I fought ‘Chito’ [Marlon Vera], I couldn’t pick. Is Merab next? Is Merab next? I had to figure out ‘Chito’ first, which I did very easily some would say. I’ve got to go out, take Merab out, and we’ll what the ‘Suga Show’ has next.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is confident he’d make quick work of Deiveson Figueiredo inside the Octagon.

Figueiredo defeated former UFC title challenger Marlon Vera at UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday by unanimous decision. His resurgence at bantamweight continued this weekend as he moved one step closer to a potential title shot.

O’Malley will face the surging Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 next month but is still keeping a keen eye on the rest of the bantamweight division. This includes Figueiredo, who dismantled O’Malley’s most recent title challenger over three rounds.

Despite the impressive nature of Figueiredo’s performance, O’Malley wasn’t taken aback by anything that Figueiredo showed against his former two-time rival.

Sean O’Malley Blasts ‘Little Twat’ Deiveson Figueiredo

In a recent tweet, O’Malley gave a less-than-glowing review of Figueiredo’s performance.

“I’d KO that little twat,” O’Malley tweeted.

As of this writing, Figueiredo hasn’t responded to O’Malley’s recent tweet. He called for a title shot against the O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili winner during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier.

Figueiredo has won three consecutive fights since making the full-time move from flyweight to bantamweight last year. A tetralogy loss to Brandon Moreno at UFC 283 preceded recent wins over Cody Garbrandt and Rob Font.

O’Malley, one of the UFC’s top pound-for-pound fighters, will look to successfully defend his belt for the second time at UFC 306. He’ll headline the UFC’s one-off event at the Las Vegas Sphere, in the first major sporting event held at the venue.

Figueiredo is looking to reclaim a UFC belt for the first time since a win over Moreno at UFC 270. Before losing the series against Moreno, Figueiredo seemed destined to be a potential long-term champion in the UFC flyweight division.

O’Malley remains laser-focused on his upcoming challenge against Dvalishvili; winner of 10 straight fights. But, many intriguing challengers including Figueiredo are waiting in the wings for a shot against the UFC titleholder.

LowKickMMA.com

We have seen some great knockouts in the combat sports world this year now that we’re more than halfway through 2024. But while many will look at the Max Holloway last-second throwdown KO of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 as their favorite, kickboxer Taimu Hisai gave that nomination a run for its money.

Hisai provided fight fans with a major finish in his Muay Thai bout with Chuut Seryvanthong at Knock Out 2024 Vol. 3.

With less than 10 seconds to go in the opening round of their fight, Hisai countered a Seryvanthong right hand by throwing his body in a spinning motion and landing his left heel right on the button, completing a rare rolling thunder knockout.

Taimu Hisai Lands Spectacular Rolling Thunder

Seryvanthong crumbled to the mat in response to the rolling thunder kick, with Hisai scoring the knockout.

Hisai has now won three straight and six of his last seven combined in the kickboxing and Muay Thai spheres.

Seryvanthong, according to Tapology, was competing in just his first Muay Thai bout and just his second professional fight in combat sports.

• Read More: 4 Positives & 3 Negatives From UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

Continue Reading VIDEO: Muay Thai Fighter Nails Rolling Thunder Kick For Potential Knockout Of The Year Highlight at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Cory Sandhagen is giving Umar Nurmagomedov his flowers.

The longtime bantamweight contender lost a hard-fought decision to Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, putting his bantamweight title plans on hold once again. Sandhagen entered Saturday’s contest on a three-fight win streak, including a victory over recent title challenger Marlon Vera, but the loss to Nurmagomedov likely sends Sandhagen back to the middle of the pack for now.

Shortly after the conclusion of UFC Abu Dhabi, Sandhagen issued a statement via social media.

“Tough sport,” Sandhagen wrote in a caption. “Umar is really world class – it was an honor to fight one of the world’s best. Congrats to him.

“Gonna keep getting better, like I always do. Thanks for the support. I love you guys.”

Nurmagomedov improved to 18-0 with the win, with six of those victories coming under the UFC banner. Afterwards, he called for the winner of the Sept. 14 UFC 306 bantamweight title main event between champion Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.

Sandhagen previously competed for an interim title at UFC 267, where he lost a five-round thriller to Petr Yan. His UFC record stands at 10-4.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Too much, too soon.

That’s the message from Marlon Vera after a disappointing performance against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

In his first fight back after falling to UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley in lopsided fashion at UFC 299 back in March, the always tough “Chito” suffered a second straight loss after dropping a unanimous decision to Figueiredo. While he had his moments in the fight, Vera started slow and just never put together the kind of offensive volume needed to beat the former flyweight champion.

Following the fight, Vera released a statement on Instagram admitting that he may have been a little too anxious to get back in the cage again without giving himself the proper time to recover from his five-round war against O’Malley just five months ago.

“I fail at myself last night,” Vera wrote. “I thought I was ready. I felt good in the gym but at the end maybe I come back too quick after a hard title fight. Life doesn’t end here I still dream about big things I just need time to let go and reset.”

During the fight, the UFC broadcast team — which included UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier and Paul Felder — noted that Vera remarked to them about getting out of the gates faster than usual because he only had three rounds to work.

In the past, Vera has often started somewhat sluggishly in the opening round but shown an ability to get stronger as the fight moves forward. That’s worked out for him in the past, most notably with a fourth-round knockout of former UFC champion Dominick Cruz as well as a stunning third-round finish of UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar in 2021.

This time around, Vera just never quite kicked into second gear.

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