Sean O’Malley thinks Khabib Nurmagomedov’s presence could give his potential clash with Umar Nurmagomedov that big-fight feel.
The latter of the Dagestani MMA dynasty earned a big win inside the Octagon earlier this month, scoring a decisive decision victory over Cory Sandhagen. The victory pushed Umar Nurmagomedov into the No. 2 spot in the bantamweight rankings, setting him up to challenge the winner of next month’s title tilt between reigning 135-pound king Sean O’Malley and top-ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili.
O’Malley is not the kind of fighter to count his chickens before they hatch, but he can’t help but think about the big fight feel that would come with facing Umar Nurmagomedov.