Umar Nurmagomedov Wants Cory Sandhagen

“I want a fight with Cory. That’s a very nice fight.”

The MMA Notebook runs every Friday.

Umar Nurmagomedov wants a bout against Cory Sandhagen

Bekzat Almakhan is a lamb about to be slaughtered.

Almakhan has the unenviable task of stepping into the cage against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov tomorrow at UFC Fight Night. While it does represent a tremendous opportunity, Nurmagomedov (16-0) is expected to dominate.

This is the UFC debut for Almakhan (17-1). The 26-year-old from Kazakhstan finds himself in this spot as no ranked bantamweight accepted a bout against Nurmagomedov.

“It doesn’t matter who I fight,” said Nurmagomedov. “Nothing changes for me when I go into the cage. I need to win.”

Yes, Nurmagomedov needs wins–but he also needs to defeat ranked opponents. That looked to be the case this past summer when he was scheduled to face Cory Sandhagen in August, but Nurmagomedov withdrew due to a shoulder injury. After this bout, Nurmagomedov wants a ranked opponent, particularly Sandhagen once he returns from a torn triceps injury, which should be this summer.

“I want a fight with Cory,” said Nurmagomedov, the 28-year-old Dagestani fighter. “That’s a very nice fight. We’ll talk after Saturday, but I need to fight first.”

Nurmagomedov is an astronomical betting favorite to defeat Almakhan, and the fight feels like a formality. Once it concludes, Nurmagomedov plans to take the next step in his pursuit of the bantamweight title.

“I am healthy,” said Nurmagomedov. “The UFC helped me a lot with the injury. I’m 100 percent healthy, and I’m ready to fight.”

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Anatoly Malykhin is now three-division ONE champ

Once again, Anatoly Malykhin was too much for Reinier de Ridder.

Earlier this morning, Malykhin defeated de Ridder (16-2) by TKO in the main event of ONE 166 in Qatar. The victory nets him the ONE MMA middleweight title, which adds to his ongoing collection: he is also the ONE MMA heavyweight and light heavyweight champion.

Still undefeated, Malykhin (14-0) is the cause of the only two losses of de Ridder’s career.

Very quickly, and powerfully, Malykhin is becoming ONE’s most dominant fighter.

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The Pick ‘Em Section

UFC Fight Night heavyweight bout: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev

• Pick: Shamil Gaziev

UFC Fight Night light heavyweight title bout: Tyson Pedro vs. Vitor Petrino

• Pick: Tyson Pedro

UFC Fight Night flyweight bout: Alex Perez vs. Muhammad Mokaev

• Pick: Muhammad Mokaev

UFC Fight Night bantamweight bout: Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Bekzat Almakhan

• Pick: Umar Nurmagomedov

UFC 297 flyweight bout: Matt Schnell vs. Steve Erceg

• Pick: Steve Erceg

Last week: 8-3

2024 record: 17-13