Umar Nurmagomedov claims that Aljamain Sterling doesn’t deserve his belt


Umar Nurmagomedov claims that Aljamain Sterling doesn’t deserve his belt

Umar Nurmagomedov on Aljamain Sterling

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin Umar Nurmagomedov won his UFC debut, and people are already expecting a lot from him, in his recent interview Umar talked about the possibility of facing the fellow Russian and former champion Petr Yan for title.

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Petr Yan lost his belt via disqualification, he threw an illegal knee against Aljamain Sterling that caused this disqualification, Petr has been looking for a rematch ever since but Sterling had to undergo surgery and Yan will have to wait for his turn.

Umar Nurmagomedov talked about the rematch and possibility of him facing Petr Yan, he said, “The one who trains the most wins. If a fighter sleeps in the gym, he has a better chance of success. If one or the other does not acquire anything new purely stylistically, Yan will win. I thought he would take the first fight.”

Umar continued, “Sterling will not be able to avoid this rematch. I think the UFC bosses won’t give him any other fight to choose. He just teases Yan, makes him angry. Petr is very well equipped technically. But in battle, anything can happen.

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“Aljamain is a positive guy. I don’t have the attitude that Sterling is bad and Yan is good or vice versa. These are potential rivals. If you have to compete for the championship belt, I will be ready to fight anyone, and therefore there is no special relationship with any of them.”

“I’m looking to get through the whole division, through fire and brimstone,” says Umar Nurmagomedov

Umar Nurmagomedov
Umar Nurmagomedov

Umar talked about how he was rooting for Yan in his match against Sterling, but if the opportunity arises, he won’t back down from the challenge as well. “I was rooting for Petr because Khabib had ended his career and there were no championship belts left in Russia,” he said.

“It’s too early to talk about a potential fight [for me] with Petr. Everyone will start hating since we are both from Russia. The time will come [for us to] talk about it. I just made my debut – it’s too early for loud statements,” Umar explained.

“I didn’t say I’d smash him. My English isn’t good enough to pick the right words. I was telling my trainer that I needed to get through everyone to become a champion. I didn’t mean to insult anyone. In any case, I’m looking to get through the whole division, through fire and brimstone.”

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Also read: ‘You will see him with a new strap in five or six fights’ – Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach Javier Mendez on Umar Nurmagomedov