Umar Nurmagomedov meets with UFC matchmaker just four days before Sean O'Malley's bantamweight title fight

Umar Nurmagomedov meets with UFC matchmaker ahead of UFC 306

The 28-year-old bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov currently has a record of 6-0 in the UFC and 18-0 as a professional, having recently defeated fan-favorite striker Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision.

This victory on the dunes of Abu Dhabi catapulted the undefeated Russian into the fight for the bantamweight title, which will be contested this weekend at UFC 306 in Las Vegas.

Now, just days before champion Sean O'Malley defends his title, Umar Nurmagomedov has announced that he has met with UFC matchmaker extraordinaire Hunter Campbell to plan his next move.

Nurmagomedov shared a picture of the two on his Instagram page with the caption: “Next contender [green check] – Someone likes it or they don't. #ufc.office.”

Manager Ali Abdelaziz has also confirmed that Umar will be in the cage for Noche UFC and that “he will fight the winner of the main event.”

Considering that Umar Nurmagomedov is currently considered the second best bantamweight in the world, with only Dvalishvili and champion Sean O'Malley ahead of him, it would make sense for him to be next in line to challenge for the 135-pound title.

However, the Georgian sensation has already spoken out and sharply criticized the undefeated hopeful, as he suspects that the UFC is only pushing him into the title fight because he bears the name “Nurmagomedov.”

Merab Dvalishvili believes Umar is being pressured because he is “Khabib’s cousin”

While Sean O'Malley has been mostly respectful of the undefeated Russian, saying he would love the fight if he can continue this upward trend, his opponent at UFC 306 is anything but happy with Nurmagomedov's placement in the rankings.

When Dvalishvili spoke to MMAFighting's Damon Martin last month, he not only claimed that Umar didn't deserve a title shot based on his resume, but also that the UFC was pushing him into the title shot based on his last name.

“Umar is a good fighter, we all know that, but he hasn't fought anyone in the top 15 and now the UFC is giving him a gift – No. 2 Cory Sandhagen, and if he wins, he'll be right up there with the best. [but] if he loses, he will [still] Top 5 or something like that… He calls [out] Sean O'Malley is calling me. Brother, respect us, let's fight and relax a little bit.”

“What the hell – you're not fighting anyone and you only came here because your last name is Nurmagomedov, because you're Khabib's cousin,” the 57-foot-9 bantamweight claimed.

“If you ask them, they don’t like trash talk, but they talk trash and act like they’re tough when they’re in front of the camera… Good for him, but he needs to grow up and he needs to be more [of a] Man, because he has to respect the fighters here.

“We've been here a long time and he's acting a little disrespectful. He talks too much.”

Merab Dvalishvili has a chance to etch his name in the UFC bantamweight history books this weekend in the main event of UFC 306, also known as Noche UFC.

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