Sean O'Malley says the hype around a potential UFC signing of PFL champion Usman Nurmagomedov only got bigger.
Nurmagomedov (22-0) confronted Merab Dvalishvili during his media obligations for RAF Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night by slapping him, which led to a huge brawl between the two sides, resulting in multiple arrests
– and prison sentences as well. Nurmagomedov retaliated after Dvalishvili slapped Umar Nurmagomedov's friend, Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov, backstage at RAF Georgia in August.O'Malley wonders if that impacts Nurmagomedov's chances of signing with the UFC now that he's a free agent. Former UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) chimed in by going after team Nurmagomedov, which O'Malley thinks plants the seed for a future
fight.
"Does this set up a fight between Ilia Topuria and Usman Nurmagomedov? That's a crazy fight," O'Malley said on his YouTube channel. "That's a crazy, hard fight for Ilia to bounce back from. It's an insane fight for Usman to jump into the UFC pool. It is a fight that I want to see. I mean, Ilia vs. Paddy is up there, Ilia vs. Usman is up there.
"These are huge, massive, insane numbered main events that don't have any titles on the line. ... I think Usman vs. Ilia makes sense. That's the fight to make. That would be a crazy fight. Ilia's big, but he's not tall. He's 5-6, Usman's probably 6-1. it would be a tough fight for both guys. It would be an interesting fight. The storyline's there."
Topuria is eyeing an April return after losing his lightweight title to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 in June. Head coach Javier Mendez recently admitted to MMA Junkie that Topuria would be the toughest test for Nurmagomedov in the UFC.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean O'Malley suggests 'crazy' first UFC fight for Usman Nurmagomedov after brawl
