Umar Nurmagomedov shares sparring footage that resulted in injury and withdrawal from UFC Nashville

Nurmagomedov

Umar Nurmagomedov offered some insight into the injury that forced him out of his main event showdown with Cory Sandhagen.

Riding an incredible 16-0 undefeated streak, Nurmagomedov is on the cusp of title contention in the bantamweight division. The UFC Nashville headliner could have thrust Nurmagomedov into the division’s top five, but after suffering an unfortunate injury whilst sparring, he is now out of the bout. As the promotion scrambles to find a suitable replacement, Nurmagomedov offers an inside look at what caused the injury that took him out of next month’s main event.

In the footage initially shared on Nurmagomedov’s Instagram, the 27-year-old contender appears to throw a right jab before staggering back with his shoulder in a clearly compromised position.

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The UFC Have Announced Umar Nurmagomedov’s Replacement

It was a rough couple of days for Dagestani fighters and the promotion’s return to Nashville as Said Nurmagomedov also withdrew from his previously scheduled bout with Kyler Phillips at the event.

The UFC announced on Thursday that Cory Sandhagen will now square off with Rob Font in the UFC Nashville headliner next month. Font has gone 4-2 in his last six outings with victories over notables including Marlon Moraes and Cody Garbrandt. After suffering back-to-back losses against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera and Jose Aldo, Font bounced back with a first-round knockout against Adrian Yanez in April.

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Fighting out of Chelyabinsk, Russia, Umar Numragomedov stormed into the UFC, scoring back-to-back rear-naked choke submissions against Sergey Morozov and Brian Kelleher. He followed that up with a unanimous decision win over Nate Maness and a first-round knockout of Raoni Barcelos in his last appearance.

It is unclear how long he expects to be sidelined with his shoulder injury.