Team Khabib Gives Green Light to Joe Rogan & Co.’s Plan for Umar Nurmagomedov as Sean O’Malley Gets Lifeline

Sean O’Malley’s dreams of reclaiming the bantamweight belt got shattered when Merab Dvalishvili squeezed it all out with his ‘Machine Choke’ in the third round of their bout at UFC 316. And right after defending the belt for the second time, Dvalishvili gave a callout to the #4 bantamweight contender, Cory Sandhagen. But what about ‘Suga’? Who is he going to fight next? Well, Jon Anik seemed to have an answer for that.

After the broadcast ended, Anik continued his conversation with Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier. With the submission in the main event still exciting their minds, Anik put forth the idea of Sean O’Malley vs. Umar Nurmagomedov. He said, “Sean O’Malley might find himself with Umar Nurmagomedov now, right?” And the two UFC color commentators had no choice but to admit that it’d be a great matchup. But did the Dagestani team go along with it? The founder and coach at the American Kickboxing Academy, Javier Mendez, believed that it was indeed time for ‘Young Eagle’ to rise to the top.

And to get to the top of the bantamweight division, Nurmagomedov will have to go through ‘Suga’. Taking to Instagram, Mendez shared a picture of the #3 bantamweight contender in his UFC outfit. In the caption, he wrote, “Soon, ‘Young ” [Umar Nurmagomedov] it will be time to start climbing back to Title contention. God gives us everything we learn from our defeats and mistakes in order to achieve your goals fathers plans continues #nurmagomedovlegacy.”

Let’s be clear on one thing. Prior to his bout against the bantamweight champion at UFC 311, Nurmagomedov predicted that the winner would fight O’Malley. And that’s exactly what happened. But now, there’s one question that still needs answering. That is, will Nurmagomedov get a rematch against Dvalishvili in the champion’s next title defense? Let’s see what Dana White has planned about it. 

Who will get the next bantamweight title shot against Merab Dvalishvili: Umar Nurmagomedov or Cory Sandhagen?

Following his impressive victory at UFC 316, Dvalishvili claimed that Cory Sandhagen was actually the most deserving fighter to get the next title shot. ‘Sandman’, even though he lost his bout against Nurmagomedov, won his last fight with great finesse. He destroyed Deiveson Figueiredo with a KO in the second round. This move put him right after ‘Young Eagle’ in the bantamweight rankings. But having defeated Nurmagomedov already, Dvalishvili wanted to compete against Sandhagen. And White wasn’t really against that notion. 

During the post-fight press conference at the Prudential Center, the UFC head honcho said, “The Umar rematch is interesting and it makes your legacy even better to run through everybody twice.” However, when a reporter further enquired about Sandhagen, White made up his mind. He claimed that Dvalishvili would indeed fight Sandhagen before getting a rematch with Nurmagomedov. And that certainly makes sense. A new opponent is always more exciting. 

This means that O’Malley vs. Nurmagomedov might be the next big thing in the bantamweight realm. Prior to his bout at UFC 311, ‘Young Eagle’ pointed out, “I will fight three times this year. I think it’s going to be – perfect for me would be June and October.” And the venue? It will probably be in Abu Dhabi. So, a bout against O’Malley might not be possible in the immediate future. But it does seem inevitable with Javier Mendez giving the green light. 

What do you think of the matchup between O’Malley and Nurmagomedov? Do you think this will put them back in the title picture? Let us know what you think in the comments down below. 

The post Team Khabib Gives Green Light to Joe Rogan & Co.’s Plan for Umar Nurmagomedov as Sean O’Malley Gets Lifeline appeared first on EssentiallySports.