Umar Nurmagomedov was by no means actually involved about getting heel-hooked by Mario Bautista.
The one-time bantamweight title challenger bounced again with a giant win at UFC 321, defeating Bautista through unanimous resolution as a part of the night’s stacked foremost card in Abu Dhabi. Whereas it was a reasonably dominant efficiency from Nurmagomedov, the Dagestani confronted a little bit of adversity when Bautista got here dangerously near locking in a heel hook throughout one in all their many grappling exchanges.
Nevertheless, in response to Nurmagomedov, he was by no means in any actual hazard.
“When he went for my heel, I didn’t even fear,” Nurmagomedov stated throughout his post-fight interview. “That’s a place within the health club the place individuals strive it on a regular basis—I all the time escape from it. It’s not pure jiu-jitsu, it’s not grappling, as a result of in MMA, once you attempt to seize a leg, you’re getting punched. It makes it a lot more durable to assault the leg like that.
“He didn’t even pull, and I’ve bought good flexibility, so I all the time might get out. The knee—that’s extra of a behavior I must do away with. I must cease ducking down, and begin stepping again as an alternative.”
The win bought Nurmagomedov again into the win column, however extra importantly, it moved him to the highest spot within the bantamweight rankings, setting the stage for a possible rematch with reigning 135-pound champion Merab Dvalishvili.
However first, Dvalishvili will put his gold on the road for a record-breaking fourth time in 2025 when he meets Petr Yan at UFC 323 on December 6.
Primed to face the winner of that battle, Nurmagomedov will possible have an in depth eye on the yr’s closing pay-per-view headliner.
