It seemed like Umar Nurmagomedov was well on his way to a title fight after edging past the formidable Cory Sandhagen. However, reports have come in pointing out that Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin might have to wait for that shot as he’s been matched with a top 10 bantamweight contender for his next UFC outing.

Following his win over ‘The Sandman’, Umar Nurmagomeov made it clear that he wanted his third fight of 2024. He didn’t want to wait, and it seems like his 2024 campaign isn’t over just yet. According to Red Corner MMA, the 18-0 undefeated star will butt heads against #8 ranked Song Yadong on December 14 at UFC on ESPN 63 in the city of Tampa, Florida.

Almost a year ago, Song Yadong expressed interest in wanting to fight Khabib’s cousin, but it didn’t really materialize. However, he has his chance against Umar now, and a win for either of the two will inch them closer to the bantamweight title. This could be an indication that a rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley could be on the horizon.

‘The Machine’ has already shown his willingness to take on ‘Suga’ again without any hesitation, so we’ll have to wait and see what Dana White decides to do. Besides Sean O’Malley, Umar Nurmagomedov also got his wish as well. He was willing to put his top contender status on the line for a fight before Ramadan anyway.

Umar Nurmagomedov didn’t want to wait for too long

Before he got his first fight in 2024 against Bekzat Almakhan, Umar Nurmagomedov waited more than a year. As such, even though he wants to face Merab Dvalishvili, who he claims is ducking him, ‘Young Eagle’ isn’t willing to sit out till ‘The Machine’ agrees to the fight, and that is why getting to fight in the final month of 2024 is also a win for the Dagestan native as well.

“I don’t want to wait until next year – I want to fight,” Umar Nurmagomedov told ‘Gorilla Energy’. “Anyone, even if it’s King Kong – let them make weight and we’ll fight. I really don’t care – I don’t want to wait for these guys. I have my own goal, I’m going to be the greatest, so I have to be active.” If we take a look, Khabib Nurmagomedov also had to go through multiple instances of lengthy inactivity periods. Hence, his cousin doesn’t want to suffer the same fate.

Do you think putting his top contender status is worth the risk? Let us know your thoughts on the matchup between Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong in the comments down below.