Umar Nurmagomedov on Saturday night at UFC 324 kept pace in a three-man race to reach UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan. Nurmagomedov got a sample of what it’s like to beat a titleholder by dominating former two-time flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the featured preliminary match as UFC made its debut on Paramount+.
Nurmagomedov, who is now neck-and-neck with Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili in the bantamweight contenders pool, had a chance to separate himself from his contemporaries on Saturday. Whether his clear win over Figueiredo was enough to move the needle is up to interpretation.
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Nurmagomedov swept Figueiredo on the scorecards without much difficulty. However, many likely expected more dominance from a -1600 betting favorite, per DraftKings. Nurmagomedov stood as the biggest favorite on the entire UFC 324 card. He outstruck Figueiredo by multitudes, took him down to the mat and maintained solid ground control; however, what Nurmagomedov failed to do was put Figueiredo in serious trouble.
Much of that blame can be placed on Figueiredo. The savvy veteran largely backpedaled, avoiding engagement with Nurmagomedov. Figueiredo briefly unleashed his “God of War” persona in Round 2, but his offensive output lasted approximately 25 seconds.
Ultimately, the fight was a clear but forgettable decision on a Paramount+ debut littered with knockouts. Even more concerning? Nurmagomedov was not granted a post-fight interview despite being the preliminary headliner.
Nurmagomedov (No. 2 BW) improved to 20-1. The cousin and pupil of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, Umar’s lone loss was a competitive UFC bantamweight title fight with Dvalishvili. Figueiredo (No. 6) has had mixed success since moving up to bantamweight. He’s 4-3 in the division and missed weight for this fight by 2.5 pounds.
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