""of course I will be happy. I will be even thankful," Nurmagomedov (19-1) said following his win over Bautista, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. "We'll see what's gonna [happen] next. If it's not going to happen before Ramadan, if they will give me another fight - maybe with [Deiveson] Figueiredo, or Aiemann Zahabi, with anybody else - I'll be happy to fight.""
""today, I became a little better [in the] cage. Grow experience. You need to spend a lot of time in the cage to become feeling there like it's home. Feel confidence, feel arena, feel fans. I don't have anything else. I just have sleep, eat, train, repeat.""
""It was not even close. Doing some submission in MMA, it's very hard, because you can punch a man.""
Umar Nurmagomedov returned to the win column with a decision victory over Mario Bautista, rebounding from his lone professional loss to Merab Dvalishvili earlier in the year. Nurmagomedov remains a top contender at 135 pounds while Petr Yan prepares to challenge Dvalishvili in the next title fight at UFC 323. Nurmagomedov hopes to compete before Ramadan 2026 (18 February–19 March) but is open to alternate opponents such as Deiveson Figueiredo or Aiemann Zahabi if the title shot cannot be arranged. Nurmagomedov emphasized the importance of cage time for growth and described his simple training routine and fight-week experiences, while downplaying the severity of a heel-hook scare during the Bautista bout.
Read at Cageside Press
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