Umar Nurmagomedov, cousin and teammate of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, has signed with the UFC, according to an Instagram post by Khabib posted Friday.
Khabib took to social media and posted a message of himself alongside Umar and a horse, with the message: "Me, horse and a @UFC fighter.
"Little brother @umar_nurmagomedov you'll have a lot to prove, when I signed with the #UFC there were a lot of people who didn't believe in me, but my team and my people believed and supported me.
"Believing in Almighty and hard work will bring the result.
"You got everything for it, now act and prove that you deserve to be among the best athletes in the world."
Also on rt.com ‘The best Dagestani fighter after Khabib’: UFC legend Frank Mir on Umar NurmagomedovUmar arrives in the UFC with an unblemished 12-0 record, with half of those wins coming inside the distance. The Russian bantamweight captured the GFC bantamweight title in his last fight with a first-round rear-naked choke victory over previously undefeated Argentine contender Briain Gonzalez at GFC 20 in November 2019, and represents the latest elite-level athlete from Russia to join the ranks of the UFC.
Now he's all set to join the talent-stacked UFC bantamweight division, where a host of top-drawer opposition awaits.
Umar himself posted to his Instagram to confirm his move to the octagon, saying: "The beginning of a new chapter #UFC. Thanks to everyone who is with me. #InshaAllah I won't let you down."
And with his cousin in his corner and the backing of the team back home in Russia, Umar will be confident of success as he looks to follow in his family member's footsteps as an undefeated Russian in the UFC.
And RT Sport understands his debut could potentially come as early as April 18, where Umar could end up joining his cousin Khabib on the UFC 249 fight card in Brooklyn, USA.