Umar Nurmagomedov dominated Deiveson Figueiredo from start to finish to wrap up his second in a row in the featured prelim at UFC 324.
Whether he was outstriking Figueiredo on the feet or just punishing
him on the ground, Nurmagomedov remained in control throughout the fight to get the decision. While it remains to be seen if that’s enough to earn another title shot remains to be seen but all three judges gave Nurmagomedov the win with identical 30-27 scorecards.
It was Nurmagomedov on the attack early, chipping away at Figueiredo with several leg kicks as he measured his strikes. A takedown attempt from Nurmagomedov stalled but he quickly went back up top with a lightning left-right combination that caught Figueiredo clean.
With just over 90 seconds remaining in the opening round, Nurmagomedov swooped inside and grabbed a body lock followed by a trip that brought Figueiredo crashing to the canvas for the first time. Nurmagomedov peppered away with punches and elbows until time expired.
Nurmagomedov stayed in control, although he wasn’t as active in the second round but he faced almost no resistance from Figueiredo, who just wasn’t doing much of anything offensively. As time passed, Nurmagomedov was trying to set up a head kick and Figueiredo seemed content to fend off the Russian’s strikes and not much else.
Figueiredo finally started launching a barrage of punches with time running out in the second but Nuragomedov was giving as good as he was getting on the feet.
As the final round got underway, Nurmagomedov stayed pursuing the Brazilian across the cage but Figueiredo was just circling away, which earned him a warning from referee Herb Dean for inactivity. That’s when Nurmagomedov scored another takedown and he just kept hammering away at Figueiredo until time expired as he wrapped up the victory.
With new champion Petr Yan cemented atop the division, Nurmagomedov joins Merab Dvalishvili and the winner of Sean O’Malley and Song Yadong as potential opponents for the next bantamweight title fight.
