Bantamweight
Umar Nurmagomedov
20-1-0 UFC 8-2-0
Chain Wrestling
Smothering Control
Takedown-Proof
Sniper Accuracy
5'8"Height
69"Reach
OrthodoxStance
30Age
1KO wins
2Sub wins
37.5%Finish rate
13:20Avg fight
Skill profile
striking
solid
1 read · 2 sources agree
grappling
solid
1 read
wrestling
great
1 read · Half The Battle
cardio
not yet read
durability
solid
1 read · Half The Battle
Chain Wrestling
35 takedowns from 76 attempts · 3.9 landed per 15 min
Smothering Control
38% of every fight spent in control position
Takedown-Proof
27 of 34 takedowns stuffed
Sniper Accuracy
57% of significant strikes land
Career rates — the raw numbers behind the chart
Sig. strikes landed / min3.76
Sig. strikes absorbed / min1.85
Striking accuracy56.6%
Striking defense60.9%
Knockdowns / 15 min0.11
Takedowns / 15 min3.94
Takedown accuracy46.1%
Takedown defense79.4%
Sub attempts / 15 min0.22
Control time38.3%
Record vs .500+ opponents6-2
Insider info
Umar Nurmagomedov favored over Song Yadong clear UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song · August 19, 2026
strikingsolid
grapplingsolid
States he sees more routes to victory for this side and commits to the pick without much qualifying language.
Looking to bounce back into title contention behind a kicking-range game built around a deceptive, hard-to-track kick off the lead leg, with a deep and varied grappling arsenal as his other clear path.
Strengthcan fight and kick effectively from either stance
Strengthsignature kick off the lead leg is disguised and difficult to see coming
Strengthreal counter-striking power that has produced highlight finishes, even if used sparingly
Strengthrecovers well when hurt
Strengthchains a varied takedown arsenal from the cage or open space with strong top control and ground-and-pound
Strengthsets up the rear-naked choke once he's established position and started landing strikes
Gap-fill reads
Umar Nurmagomedov favored over Song Yadong clear agrees with 138 MMA Half The Battle · UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song · August 27, 2026
wrestlinggreat
durabilitysolid
strikingsolid
Rated as one of the most talented fighters in the division and a plausible future champion, at 20-1, with control-based grappling that decides rounds and rarely lets an opponent build anything. The criticism attached to that is entirely about entertainment rather than effectiveness: recent performances have been risk-averse, leaning on positional control for long stretches instead of hunting a finish, in contrast to the finishing rate of the fighters he came up alongside. He has shown he can be spectacular — a first-round knockout of Barcelos, and a fight-of-the-year candidate — but the recent pattern is a safe one. Notably, he has been dropped in more than one fight and still won those rounds outright on the scorecards, so knocking him down is not by itself a path to beating him.
Strengthcontrol grappling that dictates where the fight happens and closes out rounds
Strengthrecovers from being hurt without losing the round he was hurt in
Strengthfinishing ability is there when he chooses to use it
Weaknessrisk-averse recent approach that trades finishes for safe positional control
Striking trend
Fight history
L Song Yadong 23-9-1 walk-in KO/TKO · R2 1:48 — UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song · August 29, 2026
13/21Sig. strikes
11/23Absorbed
1/3Takedowns
1:58Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Deiveson Figueiredo 25-5-1 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett · January 24, 2026
34/72Sig. strikes
8/27Absorbed
2/6Takedowns
4:50Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Mario Bautista 16-2 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 321: Aspinall vs. Gane · October 25, 2025
32/54Sig. strikes
20/54Absorbed
11/14Takedowns
10:46Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Merab Dvalishvili 18-4 walk-in TITLE Decision - Unanimous · R5 5:00 — UFC 311: Makhachev vs. Moicano · January 18, 2025
104/237Sig. strikes
111/259Absorbed
2/15Takedowns
1:37Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Cory Sandhagen 17-4 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R5 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov · August 3, 2024
98/187Sig. strikes
71/159Absorbed
5/13Takedowns
5:11Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Bekzat Almakhan 9-1 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev · March 2, 2024
68/98Sig. strikes
3/16Absorbed
5/5Takedowns
11:26Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Raoni Barcelos 17-3 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 4:40 — UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov · January 14, 2023
36/51Sig. strikes
13/24Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:02Control
1Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Nate Maness 14-1 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot · June 25, 2022
74/100Sig. strikes
2/20Absorbed
3/4Takedowns
10:49Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Brian Kelleher 24-12 walk-in Submission · R1 3:15 — UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal · March 5, 2022
18/26Sig. strikes
1/19Absorbed
1/5Takedowns
1:27Control
0Knockdowns
1Sub attempts
W Sergey Morozov 16-3 walk-in Submission · R2 3:39 — UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Magny · January 20, 2021
25/41Sig. strikes
7/30Absorbed
5/11Takedowns
2:57Control
0Knockdowns
1Sub attempts
Walk-in records count UFC bouts in this database. For the pre-UFC career, see the record breakdown below or the Tapology button up top.
Record breakdown
Wins by method
KO/TKO
2
Submission
7
Decision
11
Other
0
Losses by method
KO/TKO
0
Submission
0
Decision
1
Other
0
Fights by organization
UFC
9
Fight Nights Global
5
Gorilla Fighting
2
PFL
2
Battle on Volga
2
Fight Stars
1
Full career — 21 fights, every organization
| Opponent | Method | Event | Org | Rd | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Deiveson Figueiredo | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 324
January 24, 2026 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Mario Bautista | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 321
October 25, 2025 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Merab Dvalishvili | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 311
January 18, 2025 |
UFC | 5 | 5:00 |
| W | Cory Sandhagen | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ABC: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov
August 3, 2024 |
UFC | 5 | 5:00 |
| W | Bekzat Almakhan | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev
March 2, 2024 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Raoni Barcelos | KO (body kick and punch) | UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov
January 14, 2023 |
UFC | 1 | 4:40 |
| W | Nate Maness | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot
June 25, 2022 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Brian Kelleher | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 272
March 5, 2022 |
UFC | 1 | 3:15 |
| W | Sergey Morozov | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny
January 20, 2021 |
UFC | 2 | 3:39 |
| W | Braian Gonzalez | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Gorilla Fighting 20
November 23, 2019 |
Gorilla Fighting | 1 | 4:34 |
| W | Sidemar Honorio | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 6 (2019)
August 8, 2019 |
PFL | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Taras Gryckiv | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Gorilla Fighting 14
July 23, 2019 |
Gorilla Fighting | 1 | 2:46 |
| W | Wagner Lima | Decision (unanimous) | Battle on Volga 10
April 14, 2019 |
Battle on Volga | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Saidyokub Kakhramonov | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 7 (2018)
August 30, 2018 |
PFL | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Fatkhidin Sobirov | Decision (unanimous) | Battle on Volga 4
May 11, 2018 |
Battle on Volga | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Shyudi Yamauchi | Decision (unanimous) | Fight Nights Global 83
February 22, 2018 |
Fight Nights Global | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Nauruz Dzamikhov | Decision (unanimous) | Fight Nights Global 76
October 8, 2017 |
Fight Nights Global | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Valisher Rakhmonov | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Fight Nights Global 71
July 29, 2017 |
Fight Nights Global | 2 | 4:45 |
| W | Alym Isabaev | TKO (punches) | Fight Nights Global 62
March 31, 2017 |
Fight Nights Global | 2 | 3:32 |
| W | Ulukbek Amanbaev | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Fight Stars: Battle on Sura 6
January 5, 2017 |
Fight Stars | 1 | 4:12 |
| W | Rishat Kharisov | Submission (guillotine choke) | Fight Nights Global 57
December 16, 2016 |
Fight Nights Global | 2 | 3:28 |
Career history from the fighter's Wikipedia record table (Umar Nurmagomedov) — results only, no strike stats; UFC bouts are marked and carry full stats in the fight history above.
Division context
Hero photo of Umar Nurmagomedov by Новости ННТ · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons