UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov seemingly wasn't expecting so much resistance from Cory Sandhagen in their clash this past weekend.
The pair of elite 135lbers headlined Saturday's UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi, with both looking to stake their claim for the next spot in line for a title shot after Merab Dvalishvili cashes in on his earned opportunity against Sean O'Malley this September.
It was ultimately the undefeated Dagestani who achieved that goal, emerging victorious and keeping his 0 after five rounds of action inside the Etihad Arena.
But while it was a convincing win on the scorecards, Nurmagomedov didn't depart the Octagon fully satisfied...
During his post-fight press conference, Nurmagomedov reflected on his performance in Saturday's main event.
Despite securing three lopsided scorecards and even pitching a shutout on one, the Dagestani was self-critical. Nurmagomedov admitted that he had expected to have his way with Sandhagen in the grappling department.
I’m not happy," Nurmagomedov said. "It was a good performance on the striking, but if we’re talking about grappling and how I control him, it was not good.
I thought I would maul him on the ground, but he’s tough, he’s good," Nurmagomedov continued. "Cody is too good and has hard kicks, and he’s a tough man. I think he has more experience than me in the UFC cage, but I win, and I’m happy today I win.
Nevertheless, Nurmagomedov still exited the cage with the biggest win of his career to date, as well as a first championship opportunity likely in the bag.
He'll now have a close eye on the Sphere showdown between O'Malley and Dvalishvili this fall ahead of his potential chance at dethroning the winner down the line.
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