Khabib Nurmagomedov encouraged his cousin and No. 2 bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov to stay the course amid his recent title shot turmoil.
With a win over Cory Sandhagen over the summer, the up-and-coming Nurmagomedov was practically guaranteed a shot at the bantamweight belt. However, those plans may have changed after Merab Dvalishvili scored a decisive victory over Sean O’Malley to claim the division’s top prize at UFC 306 in Las Vegas.
Since bringing the gold back home to Georgia, ‘The Machine’ has insisted that his next fight be a rematch with O’Malley instead of squaring off with the next man in line.