Usman Nurmagomedov

Usman Magomednabievich Nurmagomedov (Усман Магомеднабиевич Нурмагомедов; born April 17, 1998) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA, where he is the current Bellator Lightweight Champion.

He has previously competed in the UAE Warriors and Eagle Fighting Championship (then Gorilla Fighting Championship).

He is the younger brother of UFC fighter Umar Nurmagomedov and a cousin of former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

As of October 10, 2023, he is No. 3 in the Bellator men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Usman Nurmagomedov was born on April 17, 1998, in the city of Kizilyurt, Republic of Dagestan.

As a child, living in his native village, with his brother Umar Nurmagomedov, he began to attend freestyle wrestling practice at the age of eight.

Once his brother Umar began to practice Thai boxing, Usman followed suit.

After moving to Makhachkala, Usman began training with his uncle, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov at the Eagles MMA camp.

There he gained sambo skills and trained alongside teammates such as his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.

He is of Avar ethnic origin.

After winning his 11th professional fight in the Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Memory Tournament, Usman signed a multi-fight contract with Bellator.

According to MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, he is considered to be a "major prospect" in the sport.

In his stateside and Bellator debut on April 2, 2021, at Bellator 255, Nurmagomedov fought Mike Hamel.

Primarily using his significant reach advantage, Usman focused on throwing kicks and not letting Hamel get into range.

At times when Hamel did close the distance, Nurmagomedov took the fight to the ground.

He won the fight via Unanimous Decision.

In his second fight for Bellator on July 31, 2021, at Bellator 263, Nurmagomedov faced Luis "Manny" Muro.

After landing a successful knee that caused Muro to fall to the floor, Nurmagomedov followed through with hammerfists causing the referee to stop the fight in round 1.

Usman's next fight was at Bellator 269 on October 23, 2021, where he faced Patrik Pietilä at a catchweight bout at 160 lbs.

After using his kicks from a distance, Nurmagomedov took the fight to the ground once Pietila closed the distance.

Taking his back, Nurmagomedov locked in a rear-naked choke, and won the fight by submission in the first round.

Nurmagomedov then faced Chris Gonzalez on July 22, 2022, at Bellator 283.

After tripping Gonzalez, Usman locked in a guillotine choke and got the tap.

He won the fight via Submission in the first round.

Usman faced Patricky Pitbull for the Bellator Lightweight World Championship at Bellator 288 on November 18, 2022.

He defeated him in dominant fashion, winning the belt and the bout via unanimous decision.

Nurmagomedov was announced as one of the participants of the Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix, which has a grand prize of $1 million.

On March 10, 2023, Usman defended his title in the quarterfinal of the Grand Prix against former WEC and UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson at Bellator 292.

He won the fight quickly, dropping Henderson with a question-mark kick seconds into the fight, and then proceeding to take his back and win the fight with a rear-naked choke.

In the semifinals, Nurmagomedov made his second title defense against former champion Brent Primus on 7 October 2023, at Bellator 300.

He originally won the fight by unanimous decision but that result was overturned by CSAC when Nurmagomedov tested positive for a prescription drug that contained a banned substance.

He was suspended for 6 months, however due to the accidental nature of the ingestion, he was not stripped of the title.

Nurmagomedov's professional MMA career began on March 26, 2017, in Moscow at the Moscow Pankration Federation promotion tournament.

His opponent was Imran Abdiev.

Usman won his first professional fight via armbar in the first round.

Nurmagomedov would continue fighting in various organizations such as the GFC and UAE Warriors, winning his next 10 fights.

All but one of these fights were won by a knockout or submission.