Usman Nurmagomedov (born April 17, 1998), is a Russian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

currently competing in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

division of

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

, where he is the current Bellator Lightweight World Champion. He has previously competed in the

UAE Warriors UAE Warriors is a mixed martial arts league and martial arts promotion in the Middle East based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Established in 2012, UAE Warriors has to date held 34 events across five nations. See also *Ultimate Fighting C ...

and

Eagle Fighting Championship Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC), commonly referred to as Eagle FC, is a Russian mixed martial arts promoter (entertainment), promotion company established in 2020 by former UFC Lightweight Championship, UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagome ...

(then Gorilla Fighting Championship). He is the younger brother of

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

fighter

Umar Nurmagomedov Umar Nurmagomedov (born March 1, 1996), is a Russian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has previously competed in the Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC) and Profe ...

and a cousin of former

UFC Lightweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Khabib Nurmagomedov Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov av, ХIабиб ГӀабдулманапил НурмухӀамадов (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division of the Ultima ...

. As of December 13, 2022, he is #7 in the Bellator men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Background

Usman Nurmagomedov was born on April 17, 1998, in the city of

Kizilyurt Kizilyurt (russian: Кизилю́рт; av, Гъизилюрт; kum, Къызыл-юрт, ''Qızıl-yurt'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, about northwest of Makhachkala. Population: . It ...

Republic of Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia sit ...

. As a child, living in his native village, with his brother

, he began to attend freestyle wrestling practice at the age of eight. Once his brother Umar began to practice

Thai boxing Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

, Usman followed suit. After moving to

Makhachkala Makhachkala ( rus, Махачкала, , məxətɕkɐˈla, links=yes),; av, Махӏачхъала, Maħaçqala; ce, ХӀинжа-ГӀала, Hinƶa-Ġala; az, Маһачгала, Mahaçqala; nog, Махачкала; lbe, Махачкъала; ...

, Usman began training with his uncle, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov at the Eagles MMA camp. There he gained sambo skills and trained alongside teammates such as his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov and

Islam Makhachev Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev (russian: Исла́м Рамаза́нович Маха́чев; born 27 October 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former Sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in ...

. He is of Avar ethnic origin.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Nurmagomedov's professional MMA career began on March 26, 2017 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

at the Moscow

Pankration Pankration (; el, παγκράτιον) was a sporting event introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC, which was an empty-hand submission sport with few rules. The athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques but also others, such as ...

Federation promotion tournament. His opponent was Imran Abdiev. Usman won his first professional fight via armbar in the first round. Nurmagomedov would continue fighting in various organizations such as the GFC and UAE Warriors, winning his next 10 fights. All but one of these fights were won by a knockout or submission. After winning his 11th professional fight in the Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Memory Tournament, Usman signed a multi-fight contract with Bellator. Per

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Ariel Helwani Ariel Helwani (born July 8, 1982) is a Canadian-American sports journalist, known for his coverage of mixed martial arts (MMA). He is best known for his work at ''MMA Fighting'', but has also worked for Fox and ESPN. Helwani is widely considered ...

, he is considered to be a "major prospect" in the sport.

Bellator MMA

In his stateside and Bellator debut on April 2, 2021 at

Bellator 255 Bellator 255: Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 2, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event was Bellator's first of the year following a four-month brea ...

, Nurmagomedov fought Mike Hamel. Primarily utilizing his significant reach advantage, Usman focused on throwing kicks and not letting Hamel get into range. At times when Hamel did close the distance, Nurmagomedov took the fight to the ground. He won the fight via Unanimous Decision. In his second fight for Bellator on July 31, 2021 at

Bellator 263 Bellator 263: Pitbull vs. McKee was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on July 31, 2021, at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The event marked Bellator's first outside of the Mohegan Sun bubble and the first B ...

, Nurmagomedov faced Luis "Manny" Muro. After landing a successful knee that caused Muro to fall to the floor, Nurmagomedov followed through with hammerfists causing the referee to stop the fight in round 1. Usman's next fight was at Bellator 269 on October 23, 2021 where he faced Patrik Pietilä at a

catchweight A catchweight is a term used in combat sports, such as boxing or mixed martial arts, to describe a weight limit that does not adhere to the traditional limits for weight classes. In boxing, a catchweight is negotiated prior to weigh-ins, which are ...

bout at 160 lbs. After utilizing his kicks from a distance, Nurmagomedov took the fight to the ground once Pietila closed the distance. Taking his back, Nurmagomedov locked in a rear-Naked choke, and won the fight by submission in the first round. Nurmagomedov then faced

Chris Gonzalez Matthew Christopher Gonzalez (born July 29, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist and former Greco–Roman wrestler who currently competes in the lightweight division of Bellator MMA. As a wrestler, Gonzalez won the 2016 senior Greco-Rom ...

on July 22, 2022 at

Bellator 283 ''Bellator 283: Lima vs. Jackson'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on July 22, 2022 at Emerald Queen Casino and Hotel in Tacoma, Washington, United States. Background Visiting the state of Washington fo ...

. After tripping Gonzalez, Usman locked in a guillotine choke and got the tap. He won the fight via Submission in the first round. Usman faced

Patricky Pitbull Patricky Freire (born January 21, 1986), known professionally by his ring name Patricky Pitbull, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Lightweight division, where he is a former Bellator Lightweight World Champio ...

for the

Bellator Lightweight World Championship Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class. At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded B ...

Bellator 288 ''Bellator 288: Nemkov vs. Anderson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on November 18, 2022, at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Background The event was headlined by a rematch in ...

on November 18, 2022. He defeated him in dominant fashion, winning the belt and the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and awards

(One time; current)

Mixed martial arts record

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Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–0 , Patrik Pietilä , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 269 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:06 ,

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Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–0 , Mike Hamel , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Svyatoslav Shabanov , TKO (punches) , FNG / GFC: Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Memory Tournament , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:37 ,

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Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Ruslan Tuyakov , TKO (knees) , Gorilla Fighting 24 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:03 ,

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Roman Golovinov , TKO (punches) , UAE Warriors 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:45 ,

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Kazim Zhakhangirov , Submission (guillotine choke) , Gorilla Fighting 17 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:10 ,

Atyrau Atyrau ( kk, Атырау, ', ; russian: Атырау, ), known until 1991 as Guryev (russian: Гурьев, ), is a city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Atyrau Region. Atyrau is a transcontinental city, at the mouth of the Ural River on the Cas ...

, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Ruslan Hisamutdinov , Decision (unanimous) , Gorilla Fighting 15 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Penza Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-l ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Gabriel Barbosa , TKO (punches) , Gorilla Fighting 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:14 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Romeo Njia , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Battle on Volga 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:48 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Issei Moriyama , TKO (punches) , Brave CF 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

, Saudi Arabia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Dmitriy Berestovskiy , (doctor stoppage) , Battle on Volga 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Imran Abdiev , Submission (armbar) , MPF: Young Talents Cup 2017 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:51 ,

, Russia ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nurmagomedov, Usman 1998 births Nurmagomedov family Dagestani mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing sambo Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Bellator male fighters Living people People from Kizilyurt Russian male mixed martial artists Russian Muay Thai practitioners Russian sambo practitioners