UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov suffered more than his first career loss in the UFC 311 co-main event.
Umar Nurmagomedov's undefeated MMA record is no more after losing to UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311. In a back-and-forth war from start to finish, Dvalishvili rallied over the final three rounds to earn a unanimous decision decision on the previous round. undefeated Nurmagomedov.
Umar, the cousin of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, entered UFC 311 with a perfect professional record of 18-0. UFC 311 marked only the second time in his career that he competed in a five-round bout, after defeating Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi last August.
In a high-octane fight, Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili both traded heavy blows inside the Octagon. But Nurmagomedov suffered a nasty hand injury just minutes into the fight, which may have affected his performance in the later rounds.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Umar Nurmagomedov broke his hand in the first round of UFC 311
In a recent tweet, Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz shared a grisly image of the bantamweight's left hand after leaving the Octagon at UFC 311.
“[Umar] broke his hands in the first round, no excuse, no excuse Alhamdulillah for everything,” Abdelaziz posted.
At the time of writing, Nurmagomedov has not yet been officially diagnosed with a broken hand by the UFC medical staff, but an update could be on the horizon in the coming days. The exact moment Nurmagomedov suffered the first-round injury has yet to be determined.
Despite suffering a left hand injury early on, Nurmagomedov won the first two rounds on most scorecards, before Dvalishvili set a ferocious pace over the final three rounds. The striking ace was unable to slow down Dvalishvili as the fight dragged on, mainly due to the bantamweight champion's relentless wrestling and forward movement.
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Umar Nurmagomedov fails to add to Dagestan's title dynasty
After suffering his first career defeat at UFC 311, Nurmagomedov will look to bounce back against another top contender and possibly earn another shot at the champion. Before losing to Dvalishvili, Nurmagomedov had victories over Raoni Barcelos, Bekzat Almakhan and Sandhagen during his UFC tenure.
Nurmagomedov wasn't the only UFC 311 fighter to suffer his first loss on the UFC's first pay-per-view card of the year. Clayton Carpenter, Rinya Nakamura and heavy favorite Payton Talbott all suffered their first career MMA setbacks this weekend in Los Angeles.
Coincidentally, Nurmagomedov was rumored to have suffered a separate injury during his UFC 311 fight camp. Dvalishvili also came into UFC 311 with a possible staph infection on his left leg, as he revealed during his post-fight interview.
Nurmagomedov's teammate, Islam Makhachev, capped off the night with a first-round finish over Renato Moicano in the UFC 311 main event. Makhachev was set to face Arman Tsarukyan before a back injury from fight week forced Tsarukyan to withdraw from the headliner.
After recovering from his apparent hand injury, Nurmagomedov will look to plot a triumphant return and get back into the bantamweight title mix.
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