Umar Nurmagomedov, who is trained by his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov, returned to winning ways at UFC 321 with a dominant unanimous decision win over Mario Bautista. From the start, the Russian imposed his wrestling, securing early takedowns and controlling the fight on the mat. Bautista threatened him with a toe hold in the first and landed a strong knee in round two. But…

Nurmagomedov’s relentless pressure and chain wrestling quickly nullified those moments. Round after round, the Dagestani fighter maintained control, constantly dragging Bautista back to the ground and dictating every exchange. Despite Bautista’s resilience and attempts to turn the tide, Nurmagomedov’s superior grappling earned him a clean sweep on the scorecards. But did he answer the biggest question of the night?

Has Umar Nurmagomedov earned another title shot?

The judges scored the fight 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 all in the Russian’s favor. This marked a strong comeback for Umar Nurmagomedov, who suffered a devastating loss at the hands of Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311. This is in part thanks to Khabib, who trained Umar for the UFC 321 fight, as revealed by former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.

“Umar did all his training under Khabib’s leadership. Khabib is the craziest coach. Especially after his first loss, he’s going to push Umar against the wall even more,” Muhammad said previously on the No Scripts podcast. Regardless, Umar’s win also means he could land a second title shot against Dvalishvili, something UFC CEO Dana White promised before the fight.

ESPN MMA quickly shared the update with their followers on X, as fans joined Henry Cejudo in sharing their opinions. “The young eagle gets it done,” they wrote. “Umar Nurmagomedov beats Mario Bautista and makes his case for another bantamweight title shot 👏 #ufc321.” Immediately after, UFC legend Henry Cejudo joined the conversation, as fans expressed their disappointment. 

Nurmagomedov fails to impress fans with UFC 321 heroics

Cejudo praised Nurmagomedov’s performance, suggesting he earned his second title shot against Dvalishvili. “30-27 Umar Nurmagomedov. He just earned that bantamweight title shot! #UFC321,” he wrote. It would be interesting to see whether White actually delivers on his promise. 

Another user quickly predicted the rematch against Dvalishvili. The user commented, “Merab does him Again.” But you never know, anything can happen in the fight game, even though the chances are low of an upset.

Someone else criticized Umar’s grappling-heavy approach to the fight. The user claimed, “He won by holding.” While grappling might not be for everyone, it’s a part of the game. 

The next user roped in UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. The user said, “Umar is a Khamzat from bantamweight.” This is, of course, thanks to Chimaev’s similar fighting style, especially in his last fight against Dricus Du Plessis.

Meanwhile, this user also had a prediction for a rematch with Dvalishvili. The user wrote, “Merab is gonna have a field day with Umar if he shows up to a rematch with that performance.” Hopefully, Nurmagomedov will be ready this time. 

Merab Dvalishvili returns in December to defend his title for a record fourth time this year, against Petr Yan. If he gets the win, he will have started lapping the division, having beaten Sean O’Malley and Yan twice. Did Umar prove tonight he can stop that type of momentum?

Either way, Umar Nurmagomedov and his cousin Khabib will be happy after the UFC 321 fight tonight, even though the fans might not share their enthusiasm. But what did you think about the fight?