‘I’d Never Do Something Like Steroids’

It’s been a tough twelve months for Usman, who was suspended over a drug test failure and then had to withdraw from his comeback fight due to illness.

Usman Nurmagomedov is set to return to action on Saturday September 7th at Bellator Champion Series: San Diego, where he’ll defend his lightweight title against Alexander Shabliy. It’s a re-booking of a fight previously set for Champion Series: Paris in May which was canceled due to an undisclosed Nurmagomedov injury.

Now Usman is revealing the actual cause of his withdrawal: an illness which he suspects could have been COVID-19.

“The last time when we’re preparing for Paris, I was coming fresh out of the month of Ramadan,” Usman told MMA Junkie through a translator in a new interview. “We had to fast, and my body was weak. I don’t know. Maybe it was the coronavirus, but there was something with my lungs so I couldn’t recover properly.”

“I got sick. And I was trying to do my best. I was still trying to fight and get the proper preparation, but I just couldn’t beat it. So unfortunately that fight was off, but now that’s time we prepared.”

Don’t get it twisted: Usman Nurmagomedov is no Umar Nurmagomedov, who has withdrawn from several fights over the past four years. The Paris fight against Shabliy is the first time Usman pulled out of a fight, and he’s looking forward to finally competing again for the first time since November 2023.

“The training is done. The camp is done. Now it’s only weight cut, and you’re gonna see us on September 7th. It’s gonna be in a great fight.”

The delay has been so long because Nurmagomedov failed a California commission drug test following his Bellator 300 win over Brent Primus. For some reason, the substance he popped for has never been disclosed by the commission, leading to a lot of speculation and some criticism.

“We have a deal with California Commission, and I cannot tell to media or someone,” he said. “But it was medication. If it were a steroid, they have to say, ‘This was a steroid.’ And they have to give me more time for suspension. They have to give me like one year, two year, and we have example from other guys. It was medication, and this was like nothing. Everything is good now.”

Bellator was supportive enough to Nurmagomedov through the situation that they let him keep the lightweight belt despite the drug test fail.

“I know who I am, I’d never do something like steroid or something like that,” Usman declared. “People only talk about this because they cannot win against us, and they have to say something. You guys, you can talk whatever you want, but who cares?”