Henry Cejudo doesn’t think Umar Nurmagomedov should need one more win to earn another UFC title shot.
Nurmagomedov (19-1 MMA, 7-1Â UFC) rebounded from his loss to bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA, 14-2 UFC) by outwrestling Mario Bautista on Saturday’s UFC 321 main card. He snapped Bautista’s eight-fight winning streak.
Although he swept the scorecards, Nurmagomedov was dropped in Round 1 by a knee. He admitted his performance wasn’t perfect, but Cejudo insists he’s the only one who can challenge Dvalishvili. However, Dvalishvili still thinks Nurmagomedov needs to do more for a rematch, and with Dvalishvili booked to run things back with Petr Yan in the UFC 323 headliner on Dec. 6, Nurmagomedov is open to fighting someone else.
Cejudo disagrees.
“Umar needs to fight Merab Dvalishvili,” Cejudo said of Nurmagomedov on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “Even with that performance, it was 30-27, but still he’s the next big thing to challenge for that, and I don’t think he should have the right to fight anybody else. If Sean O’Malley got a rematch right off the bat, I feel like Umar with this win deserves it too.”
In their first fight at UFC 311, Dvalishvili rallied to outlast Nurmagomedov. Cejudo broke down the changes Nurmagomedov needs to make to get his hand raised.
“This is what Umar would have to do: Stay in the center and fight him there,” Cejudo said. “That’s it. Defend, but stay in the center. Don’t get backed up. Merab has the momentum, sure, but he has to. Typically, Merab always kind of loses the first round. He lost it with me, he lost it with him, he lost it with Cory, but take your chances there. Stay in the center, don’t back up.”
