UFC 311, which goes down this weekend (Sat., Jan. 18, 2025) from Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, is a landmark moment for the Nurmagomedov fighting family.
Dagestan’s takeover of the Octagon hasn’t happened overnight. It all beings with Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s father and the visionary coach behind Eagles MMA. Under the tutelage of “Father’s Plan,” Khabib tore through the Lightweight ranks and captured UFC gold.
In the cage, Khabib become a champion with relative ease, hardly losing a round in his entire professional career. Issues outside of actual competition slowed the Dagestan takeover, however. An ACL tear slowed Nurmagomedov’s rise, and the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately cost Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov his life, resulting in an early end of Khabib’s title reign.
Subsequently, Dagestan went without a UFC champion for a couple years. Charles Oliveira was allowed to rule over the Lightweight roost until Islam Makhachev secured his shot and battered the legendary Brazilian. Khabib’s heir-apparent has lived up to every expectation, having already defended his title three times to extend his winning streak to 14.
He’s the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet (sorry Dana) and is justifiably talking about a second title. We’re already at the point that Makhachev is rematching contenders he’s already beaten. He’s just a couple wins away from clear-cut greatest Lightweight of all time status.
Umar Nurmagomedov is primed to follow those same footsteps as well. Down two weight classes at 135-pounds, “Young Eagle” enters his first title shot at 18-0. He’s already won six UFC fights, has hardly lost a round, and is a nearly 3-1 favorite over Merab Dvalishvili — a man on one of the best win streaks in MMA!
Clearly, expectations are high. Unlike Khabib and Islam, Umar didn’t have to win a ten fights to score a title shot (much to the chagrin of Merab Dvalishvili). The Dagestan dynasty is starting to payoff, as excellence and championships are expected from the Nurmagomedov fight team.
Even on the undercard, Tagir Ulanbekov is among the more overlooked fighters in MMA. The ranked Flyweight is 4-1 inside the Octagon, with the sole defeat coming versus a former title challenger who admitted to cheating his ass off in the fight. He’s already beaten hyped prospect Asu Almabayev and should be more widely considered as a potential title threat.
At the moment, there’s not an overwhelming amount of fighters from Dagestan competing in the Octagon. Khabib has mentioned his belief that this is intentional, that promotions don’t want all of their champions to be from one small part of the world. Regardless, it means this trio of fights stands to make an even bigger statement … for better or worse.
If Khabib and company go 3-0 as the odds makers expect, they leave California with two champions and a Top 10 contender (without even mentioning their champions in other promotions, like Umar’s brother Usman Nurmagomedov). UFC 311 would stand as a statement that in 2025, Dagestan will remain on top of the MMA pile.
What if they were to lose, however? Arman Tsarukyan and Merab Dvalishvili are two of the best wrestlers anyone from that camp has ever faced. The upset risk is real regardless of the wide odds. There’s a chance the Nurmagomedov fight team flies back to Russia with zero UFC titles, which could prove a significant indicator that the dynasty is no longer.
No wonder Khabib is stressed.
