Ahead of UFC 311, Umar Nurmagomedov feels no pressure to live up to his family

LOS ANGELES – Umar Nurmagomedov will look to add another major title to his tally at UFC 311.

Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) challenges bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+) at the Intuit Dome. With his cousin, UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov leading the way, Umar is ready to realize his potential at UFC 311.

“I’m here a long time, I’m with them and we know who we are,” Nurmagomedov said Wednesday at UFC 311 media day. “We know how we are ready. I don’t feel pressure.”

His teammate, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, headlines the event as he rematches Arman Tsarukyan. His brother, Bellator champion Usman Nurmagomedov, defends his title a week later against Paul Hughes in the PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai main event.

It’s been a busy two weeks for the team, but Nurmagomedov is confident it will be a memorable one.

“It will be a good legacy for us,” Nurmagomedov said. “When we get older, we’re going to tell our kids, you know your dad fought for the title? Our team was great. It’s great. I think we’re going to be — our family, our team that’s going to be like Gracie Everyone wants to know what we did in MMA.

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For more on the card, visit the MMA Junkies event hub for UFC 311.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ahead of UFC 311, Umar Nurmagomedov feels no pressure to live up to his family