ASA League Vice President Aslanbek Badaev in a conversation with assessed the probability of the match Petra Jana And Umar Nurmagomedov in 2025.
Currently, Russians Nurmagomedov and Yan occupy the second and third lines of the bantamweight division rankings, respectively. In the title fight, which took place on September 14, 2024, Merab Dvalishvili won the championship belt by defeating Sean O’Malley by unanimous decision.
— What do you think about the UFC title fight between Dvalishvili and O’Malley?
“The fight didn’t impress me, I expected more from the champion: aggressiveness, ingenuity, a certain form of creativity. He is the same [Шон О’Мэлли] stood still, followed his opponent, threw occasional punches, and very few of them. I didn’t understand how he was going to win. If you’re going to advance, you have to take shortcuts and hit more aggressively. And if you’re baiting, you also have to hit harder and be prepared to fight. He did neither.
Dvalishvili did the same as before, but at the same time showed some signs of fatigue. I didn’t see his impeccable cardio that fans talk about. Obviously, he has good translations, but it’s not top level, there’s nothing inventive in terms of technique. He takes more rhythm and endurance. There are questions about his control in general, he probably holds the record for the number of takedowns, and also because when he transfers, he doesn’t keep his opponent on the ground. He has to translate again and again. He hasn’t really learned to control.
— Doesn’t it seem like the fight between Petr Yan and Umar Nurmagomedov suddenly turned out to be very close: Yan beats Deiveson Figueiredo, Umar beats Merab Dvalishvili and they meet?
“I think it’s a good fight, they’ve talked about each other more than once, but it will be difficult to sell such a fight to the American audience. On the other hand, it’s unlikely that they will be able to separate them, and there are no other obvious names at the moment. Probably, if everything goes as you suggested, it could happen,” Badaev told .
Live broadcasts of mixed martial arts tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
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I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
