Usman Nurmagomedov born April 17th, 1998 in Kizilyurt, Dagestan, Russia, began his journey training at the age of eight following his older brother Umar Nurmagomedov in freestyle wrestling and Thai boxing.
The young star currently holds an impeccable 17-0 Professional MMA record with 8 wins by knockout, 6 by submission and 3 by decision. Whilst he is widely known as a cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Usman has built a style of his own, different to his older cousin and elder brother.
Usman began his Pro career in 2017 at the Moscow Pankration Federation promotion defeating Imran Abdiev in the first round via Armbar. Soon after he would fight in promotions such as GFC and UAE Warriors before signing a deal with Bellator.
Usman made his Bellator debut in 2021 fighting Mike Hamel to showcase his all-round prowess and prove how much potential he has in the organization to be the best.
Usman is undefeated in his Bellator career which includes winning the Bellator Lightweight Championship vs Patricky Pitbull by DEC and defending the title vs Benson Henderson by Rear Naked Choke.
With all that being said, let’s dive into Usman Nurmagomedov’s top 5 MMA finishes and show why he’s among the forerunners of MMA.
5. Vs Svyatoslav Shabanov – Fight Nights Global (Sept. 9, 2020)
After the passing of his uncle Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Usman competed in the memory tournament taking on Svyatoslav Shabanov which was his last fight before moving over to Bellator.
Round one begins with both men throwing kicks and getting involved in little scrambles. Usman secures a takedown on Shabanov and actively works towards a rear naked with good body lock control before Shabanov gets back to his feet.
Shabanov applies pressure but Usman manages to find range and comfort with his kicks, displaying them in different forms from low to high. The distance starts to become a problem for Shabanov.
The bell for round two sounds and Usman continues with the kicks, throwing a low leg kick early on which makes Shabanov switch stance. This allows Usman to get high kicks and body kicks in while that lead leg in orthodox is a little compromised.
As the fight continues, you notice that every time Shabanov tries to be in his original stance, Usman throws the low kicks with velocity which isolates Shabanov. This limits Shabanov’s movement while also not allowing him to generate power himself thus halting his offense.
Usman continues to show brutal striking, mixing it up halfway through which drops a broken Shabanov, allowing Usman to maintain ground control before Shabanov gives up and can no longer continue the bout.
Usman Nurmagomedov wins the contest via TKO at 3:37 of Round 2.
4. Vs Patrik Pietila – Bellator 269 (Oct. 23, 2021)
In his third Bellator fight, Usman takes on Patrik Pietila in a catchweight fight as Usman could not make 155lbs.
The beginning of the fight starts with both in reach of each other throwing leg kicks. Usman throws a few which tend to send Pietila off balance and potentially rolling the ankle twice.
Usman gets an early takedown beautifully in the centre of the octagon and starts to attain good positioning where he can work towards causing some damage.
Usman transitions from side control to mount with superb ground control and throws teasing punches which gets Pietila to move around leaving an opening for Usman. Usman finds the neck wide open and locks a lovely rear naked choke to stop the fight.
Usman Nurmagomedov wins via submission at 4:06 of Round 1 in dominant fashion.
3. Vs. Manny Muro – Bellator 263 (Jul. 31, 2021)
After coming off a successful Bellator debut, Usman Nurmagomedov got back into the cage facing an experienced Manny Muro.
Manny is the one trying to press Usman while Usman tries to find distance with his kicks. Usman early on shows a lot of stance switching to find his angles on the gaps that Manny might leave exposed.
During the exchanges, Usman manages to get Manny’s back towards the cage working towards a takedown but shows patience and composure to not rush the situation.
Usman gets Manny down and controls before Manny gets up and both men exchange knees in a clinch battle up against the cage. As Manny circles away, Usman throws a timed left knee near the liver and ribs which causes Manny to fall to the canvas whereupon he finishes the contest with strikes.
Usman Nurmagomedov wins the contest via TKO at 3:30 of Round 1.
2. Vs. Benson Henderson – Bellator 292 (Mar. 10, 2023)
In his first title defence of the Bellator Lightweight Champion, Usman takes on a legend in the MMA industry in former UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson.
The round starts and both men exchange kicks before Usman throws a question mark kick that lands on Benson’s face as he was slipping. Usman straight away pounces and attempts to finish Benson with ground and pound.
Usman continues to throw punches and elbows lowering the power and volume and switches to a more positioning mindset not to wear himself out and lose a valuable position.
Usman attempts multiple rear naked chokes but Benson shows great defence and composure as Usman holds onto his back.
Usman finds an opening and locks the rear naked choke and stops the legend by submission making it Benson’s first submission loss since 2013 to Anthony Pettis.
Usman Nurmagomedov defeated Benson Henderson via submission at 2:37 of Round 1 defending his Bellator Lightweight Championship.
1. Vs Ruslan Tuyakov – Gorilla Fighting 24 (Feb. 9, 2020)
Coming into this bout, Usman has an 8-0 Pro record and takes on the unbeaten Ruslan Tuyakov with a 4-0 record.
Ruslan starts the fight showing aggression early but gets locked up in a clinch against the cage with Usman throwing knees.
As the fight gets back to the center, Ruslan throws a great right hand which finds its target. Usman backs away before trying to keep distance control and avoid any power shots coming his way.
Ruslan attempts a takedown on Usman towards the back end of the round but Usman gets away and tries to open up his offence on the feet.
In round two, Usman begins to find that reach with front kicks and low kicks.
Usman starts to drop little feints and he can see Ruslan biting which Usman stores. Ruslan tries to get a takedown as he appears to be slowing down and not winning the battle on the feet but Usman scuffs the takedown.
After scuffing the takedown, Usman lands a left knee in the clinch which Ruslan immediately tries to cover up but Usman shows a ferocious clinch game and implements knees, body blows and elbows which brutally drop Ruslan terminating the bout.
Usman Nurmagomedov wins the bout via TKO at 2:03 of Round 2.
