UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov won’t wrestle anymore, according to his manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
Nurmagomedov was brutally knocked out by Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Shanghai in one of the biggest upsets of the year.
Now, following that devastating loss, Nurmagomedov doesn’t plan on wrestling anymore; instead, he plans on becoming a striker and knocking everyone out.
Ali Abdelaziz Says Umar Nurmagomedov Will Become a Striker
Speaking to Submission Radio, Abdelaziz said that Nurmagomedov will become a striker going forward instead of a wrestler.
“Umar called me the other day, and he was like, ‘I’m not a wrestler. I’m not gonna wrestle again. I’m just gonna knock everybody out. I’m gonna make sure I make it look easy.’”Abdelaziz said.
“Umar called me the other day, and he was like, ‘I’m not a wrestler. I’m not gonna wrestle again. I’m just gonna knock everybody out. I’m gonna make sure I make it look easy.’”
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Nurmagomedov has 20 wins in his MMA career, but just two of those wins have come by knockout, so these comments are certainly curious given that striking is not his strongsuit.
That’s not to say that Nurmagomedov can’t strike — he did KO top contender Raoni Barcelos in 2023, after all — but his top trait is his wrestling, so it’s interesting that Abdelaziz said that he’s going to go away from what got him here in the first place.
Umar Nurmagomedov Looking to Rebound After Loss
Following his brutal KO defeat to Song at UFC Shanghai, Nurmagomedov is looking to rebound after getting knocked out for the first time in his MMA career.
He is still one of the highest-ranked bantamweights in the UFC, so fans would be foolish to completely write him off just yet due to suffering one bad loss. But still, he needs to change a few things in his game if he ever wants to become the UFC bantamweight champion.
Is that becoming a striker and getting away from his wrestling? It seems like a curious decision, to be sure. But Nurmagomedov can surely turn things around given how much athletic talent he possesses.
But turning into a striker from a wrestler, which is what got him to the spot he’s at in the first place, might not exactly be the best decision for his UFC career.
Umar Nurmagomedov Won’t Wrestle Anymore, Says Manager