Umar Nurmagomedov returns this weekend at UFC 321 (Oct. 25, 2025) for his first fight since losing to Merab Dvalishvili in a bantamweight title attempt, and we’re gonna see a new level of determination from the Dagestani fighter according to former welterweight champ Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad has been training with Umar under Khabib Nurmagomedov’s watchful eye and has witnessed the crazy sessions Khabib has been putting Umar through.
“He’s been out there doing his whole camp with Khabib being the main
coach,” Muhammad told the No Scripts podcast. “And Khabib is the craziest coach. He’s going to push him harder than he’s ever been pushed before. Especially coming off his first loss, Khabib’s not going to let him take a break.”
“I think they’re hyped because the brother just won,” he added. “Usman [Nurmagomedov] just won. So I think Umar’s going to be in a good place mentally to get a win.”
That would be Usman Nurmagomedov, who just beat Paul Hughes to win the inaugural PFL lightweight championship. While Team Khabib continues to hold an impressive record across the MMA world, they’re no longer as perfect as they once were, and Umar Nurmagomedov’s loss to Merab Dvalishvili back in January is an example of that.
“I know people say, ‘Oh, he broke his hand,’ and yeah, he did break his hand,” Muhammad said of that loss. “He was winning the first two rounds, then his hand broke, and it became a completely different fight. The level between both of them is just so close that you have to see a rematch. But he’s got to get past Bautista first.”
Mario Bautista has been a big spoiler lately, defeating legendary champions Jose Aldo and Patchy Mix in his last two fights. Bautista isn’t afraid to grind through a fight however he has to for a win, so any chink in Umar’s game will have to be closed up to avoid that.
UFC 321 goes down from Abu Dhabi and features a heavyweight title fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane, plus a battle for the vacant women’s strawweight title between Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba.
