Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Sergey Morozov rebooked for UFC 257
Battling a string of bad luck, Umar Nurmagomedov will finally look to make his UFC debut on Jan. 23.
Nurmagomedov (12-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) faces Sergey Morozov (16-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 257, which does not yet have a confirmed venue and location, but will be headlined by a Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier rematch.
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after initial posts from both Nurmagomedov and Morozov on their social media accounts.
Nurmagomedov has seen three UFC bookings fall through, as his octagon debut has been repeatedly pushed back. He was first scheduled to make his octagon debut against Hunter Azure at UFC 249, but the event was postponed due to restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic. He was then set to face Nathaniel Wood at UFC on ESPN 14, but withdrew due to the death of his uncle and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov following complications from COVID-19.
His latest attempt to make his promotional debut also fell through when he was forced to withdraw just one week out from his matchup against Morozov at UFC 254, due to a staph infection. The pair have now been rescheduled for the UFC’s first pay-per-view event of 2021.
Winner of his past five in a row, Morozov hasn’t competed since October 2019, when he defended his M-1 Global bantamweight title with a unanimous decision win over Josh Rettinghouse. That win earned him a call-up to the UFC, and he is set to make his octagon debut on Jan. 23.
With the addition, the latest UFC 257 lineup includes:
- Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier
- Joanne Calderwood vs. Jessica Eye
- Amanda Ribas vs. Michelle Waterson
- Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Brad Tavares
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Arman Tsarukyan
- Ottman Azaitar vs. Matt Frevola
- Sergey Morozov vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
