Prior to his first start of the year, it feels fair to say that Nurmagomedov had underperformed based on expectations, which admittedly were probably too high to start based on his familiar last name.
After debuting with a win over Justin Scoggins in a flyweight bout in the summer of 2018, the now 30-year-old Russian moved up to bantamweight and knocked out Ricardo Ramos before dropping a unanimous decision to Raoni Barcelos and making quick work of Mark Striegl on Fight Island in the fall of 2020. Going 3-1 in the UFC is solid, but heading towards the four-year anniversary of his debut, it’s safe to say most expected greater activity and more success from Nurmagomedov.
He showed why while giving those same people hope that his breakout is on the horizon at UFC 270 in January, where he raced across the Octagon and locked up a standing modified guillotine choke on Cody Stamann in 47 seconds, kicking off his 2022 campaign with a Performance of the Night bonus and the kind of win that instantly added his name to the growing list of emerging competitors to watch in the 135-pound weight class.
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Saturday night, he returns to action against Douglas Silva, a 37-year-old Tasmanian devil from Brazil who enters the fight having earned back-to-back victories and back-to-back post-fight bonuses. Last time out, “D Silva” rallied from a rugged first round opposite Sergey Morozov to stun, drop, and submit the veteran midway through the second stanza, elevating his record to 28-4 with one no contest in the process.
While not the established name Stamann was, this weekend’s clash with Silva is another stern test for Nurmagomedov, as the durable and attacking veteran has only lost to quality competition, including contenders Rob Font and Petr Yan, unbeaten featherweight Lerone Murphy, and Zubaira Tukhougov.
Securing a third straight victory and second win this year will further elevate Nurmagomedov in the talent-rich bantamweight ranks, putting him in a position to potentially garner a date with an even more established name next time out.