Kamaru Usman applauds Umar Nurmagomedov for staying confident after breaking undefeated run

Kamaru Usman recently lauded Umar Nurmagomedov for not letting his first career loss burden him down too much. Usman also heaped praise on the UFC bantamweight superstar for getting back in the win column last weekend.

Nurmagomedov was on an incredible 18-fight win streak before he faced Merab Dvalishvili in a bantamweight title fight at UFC 311 in January. While many expected Nurmagomedov to beat Dvalishvili, 'The Machine' cruised through five rounds of action to win the fight via unanimous decision and handed the Dagestani fighter his first career loss.

Given that Nurmagomedov is UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov's cousin and trains under his guidance, it's no surprise that a title loss like that would be a tough pill to swallow. However, Nurmagomedov redeemed his loss with a solid UD win over Mario Bautista at UFC 321 last weekend in Abu Dhabi.

In a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Usman lauded Nurmagomedov for getting over his maiden loss and said:

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"You broke an 18-0 streak by losing that last one; he broke that streak, so he needed to get this monkey off his back... First and foremost, a big shoutout to Umar for staying poised, disciplined, and confident throughout the week. It’s a big shadow that you have to fill here because you were the first one to drop one, you can’t go in there and be the first one to drop two in a row."

Umar Nurmagomedov issues ice-cold warning to Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan

Umar Nurmagomedov will be keeping an eye on the Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan fight at UFC 323 in December. After his unanimous decision win over Mario Bautista at UFC 321 last weekend, Nurmagomedov declared his intention to challenge for the bantamweight title again.

In the post-fight octagon interview (via @ChampRDS on X), Nurmagomedov sent Dvalishvili and Yan a warning and said:

"Believe me, I will be ready, [a] 100 times better than today. I will do it, and I will come to take this belt. Doesn't matter who is going to be Petr Yan, Mirab [Dvalishvili] whoever else? Doesn't matter, guys, I will become champion."