Usman Nurmagomedov says his brother, Umar, is unfazed by drawing lower-ranked David Martinez.
Umar Nurmagomedov (20-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) takes on No. 9 bantamweight Martinez (14-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 282 co-main event on July 25 from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Umar continues his climb back up the ladder after losing to Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title at UFC 311. He has since picked up back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Mario Bautista and Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 324 but now finds himself matched up with a lesser-known opponent.
“I was talking about his next fight just an hour ago, we were at dinner together, and he said, ‘They send a contract, I said yes,'” Usman told MMA Junkie of Umar. “‘If they will send me all top 10, I will beat all top 10. I just want to be active, and I just want to beat all of these guys until they give me a title shot.'”
Dvalishvili is expected to complete his trilogy with Petr Yan after losing his belt to him at UFC 323. So, where would that leave Umar?
“I understand he has a goal,” Usman said of Umar. “He has very good focus, and if Umar is going to show his best performance, if he’s going to finish this guy, I think the UFC has to give attention to that.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Usman Nurmagomedov on why brother Umar is fighting David Martinez
