Khabib Ties Umar Nurmagomedov’s Next Opponent to Petr Yan’s Next Defense

Overview

• Khabib Nurmagomedov said Umar will fight Sean O’Malley if Petr Yan faces Merab Dvalishvili next, or fight Dvalishvili if Yan gets O’Malley.
• The UFC has not named Yan’s next challenger, with Dvalishvili widely discussed as an option and O’Malley indicating he would wait for a rematch.
• LowKickMMA reported Dvalishvili recently underwent lower back surgery and will be sidelined for months, complicating timelines.
• Reporting indicates both O’Malley and Dvalishvili have shown little interest in facing Umar in the near term.
• Umar is coming off a unanimous-decision win over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 324 and says he wants to stay active, as debate continues over O’Malley’s star power influencing the next title shot.