Umar Nurmagomedov will have his eyes peeled for another potential No. 1 contender bantamweight bout at UFC 324.
Nurmagomedov (19-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) takes on Deiveson Figueiredo (25-5-1 MMA, 14-5-1 UFC) in Saturday’s featured prelim (Paramount+) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In the co-main event, Sean O’Malley (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) meets Song Yadong (22-8-1 MMA, 11-3-1 UFC).
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With Petr Yan dethroning Merab Dvalishvili to become champion at UFC 323, O’Malley has new life. Considering O’Malley holds a win over Yan, it’s perhaps not in Nurmagomedov’s best interest that he wins. However, the top contender sees “The Suga Show” rebounding at UFC 324.
“I think O’Malley will win,” Nurmagomedov said in an interview with Paramount UFC Crew. “He’s taller, taller than Yadong. If the fight is going to be in the striking, I think he’s going to control this fight.”
Nurmagomedov, who suffered his first-career loss to Dvalishvili in their title fight at UFC 311, wasn’t surprised to see Yan beat Dvalishvili and reclaim the belt.
“My prediction was Petr, you know,” Nurmagomedov said. “Merab fought a lot in one year, and it’s not easy. But for me, it doesn’t matter. I just want to win this fight, and after that, even if I’m not next in line, I want to fight again.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 324: Umar Nurmagomedov predicts Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong
