Henry Cejudo hails Umar Nurmagomedov as the sternest test at 135 pounds.
The undefeated fighter, who is a cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, is 4-0 to start off his octagon tenure.
Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) earned his first post-fight bonus when he scored a big first-round knockout of Raoni Barcelos at UFC Fight Night 217 in January, and Cejudo thinks the 27-year-old is a problem for the division.
“Umar is the most dangerous guy,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “At 135 pounds, out of all these cats that I see, Umar Nurmagomedov is the toughest challenge for any of them, including myself. He can wrestle, he can strike, he can box, he’s well-rounded. He’s seen his brother and his cousin win world titles and he wants to be next.”
Nurmagomedov took to Twitter to thank Cejudo, who challenges bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in the UFC 288 main event on May 6.
@HenryCejudo Triple c know
Thank so much champ and good luck pic.twitter.com/n7WEjbp1Jn
— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv) March 28, 2023
Nurmagomedov revealed he was offered a May 13 headliner against Merab Dvalishvili, but the fight didn’t materialize because Dvalishvili was injured. But after Cory Sandhagen defeated Marlon Vera this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 43, he called Dvalishvili out, and it appears the Georgian fighter has now shifted his focus to fighting Sandhagen.
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) March 26, 2023
Henry Cejudo: Umar Nurmagomedov ‘the most dangerous guy’ in bantamweight