LAS VEGAS – Umar Nurmagomedov had little problem dominating Nate Maness at UFC on ESPN 38 to stay undefeated in his career.
Nurmagomedov (15-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who is the cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, showed the trademark overwhelming grappling pressure that has become synonymous with his family name by making light work of Maness (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision victory by scores of 30-27, 30-26 and 30-25.
The bantamweight fight was part of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 38 main card, which took place at the UFC Apex.
It took about 90 seconds for Nurmagomedov to get his first takedown after an early feeling-out process between the two sides. Nurmagomedov completely smothered Maness with his top pressure, landing short shots until he passed guard and into the mount. Nurmagomedov threatened with a late submission, but there wasn’t enough time to finish it.
In the second round, Nurmagomedov needed less than 40 seconds to shoot for a takedown and plant Maness on his back. Maness never got up over the course of the round, because Nurmagomedov controlled from on top, from the back, and then landed big shots in the closing moments of a completely one-sided round.
With Maness worn down and out of answers in the final frame, Nurmagomedov started to showcase some of his striking with a hard kick to the face of his opponent and some other solid strikes. He then secured a takedown and battered Maness to the final bell.
THIS KICK FROM UMAR 😳 #UFCVegas57 pic.twitter.com/2hjg0PcUbY
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 26, 2022
After the win, Nurmagomedov said he’s coming for UFC gold, and ready to break into the top 10 at 135 pounds with his next fight.
“I’m going to continue to fight and I’m going to work and I’m going to be the champion,” Nurmagomedov said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC on ESPN 38 include:
- Umar Nurmagomedov def. Nate Maness via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 20-25)
- Chris Curtis def. Rodolfo Vieira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Carlos Ulberg def. Tafon Nchukwi via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:15
- Shayilan Nuerdanbieke def. T.J. Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Sergey Morozov def. Raulian Paiva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Cody Durden def. JP Buys via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:08
- Mario Bautista def. Brian Kelleher via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:27
- Vanessa Demopoulos def. Jinh Yu Frey via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
