Ali Abdelaziz, the CEO of MMA management firm Dominance MMA, says that undefeated lightweight prospect Usman Nurmagomedov is even better than his cousin, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Speaking to Andy Whitelaw of Asian MMA, Abdelaziz was asked to identify the brightest prospects he currently represents—prospects like Khamzat Chimaev, who recently burst into the limelight in the UFC.
The manager responded that he has up to 10 prospects of Chimaev’s caliber on his roster.
“[With] Khamzat, everybody always says ‘where has this guy been?’” Abdelaziz said. “I’ve got 10 Khamzats.”
Abdelaziz then pointed to Usman Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s cousin, as another fighter to watch, touting the undefeated lightweight as a better version of the UFC champion.
“The guy to really look out for right now that nobody knows about is Usman Nurmagomedov,” Abdelaziz said. “He’s 9-0, all finishes. He’s an absolute killer. He’s a Muay Thai specialist, and Khabib’s brother. If you have the same blood as Khabib, you have good wrestling.
“I’m telling you, he is actually a better than Khabib,” Abdelaziz added. “He is better than Khabib. I’m telling you, people should watch for him. He’s an absolute killer. He’s got it all. He’s got the striking, he’s got the grappling, he’s got the jiu jitsu, he’s got the look, he’s got the swagger. He’s knocking people out with elbows.
“He’s the guy really to look out for. He’s a phenom. He’s a combination of Khabib, Jon Jones, [Israel] Adesanya. He’s a combo of all them.”
Usman Nurmagomedov last fought at UAE Warriors 12 last weekend, knocking out Jerry Kvarnstrom to move to 10-0. Khabib was in his corner for the fight.
From here, Abdelaziz says the younger Nurmagomedov could wind up signing with ONE Championship. Dominance MMA just inked a new partnership with the Singapore-based martial arts organization.
“I’m having serious conversations with ONE Championship too,” Abdelaziz said. “He me might be the next big thing coming from ONE Championship.”
What do you think the future holds for Usman Nurmagomedov?