Umar Nurmagomedov disappointed in first UFC main event, expected to 'maul' Cory Sandhagen on the ground

Umar Nurmagomedov got his hand raised on Saturday, which was the main priority, but he’s not too thrilled about how he got it done.

The undefeated bantamweight contender is disappointed he wasn’t able to be dominant in the grappling department against Cory Sandhagen, who he defeated by unanimous decision in the main event of Saturday’s UFC on ABC 7 at Etihad Arena in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Nurmagomeov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) had his moment on the ground, but Sandhagen (17-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) proved to be a tough challenge and defended many of his takedown attempts and ground attacks.

“I’m not happy,” Nurmagomedov told reporters at the UFC on ABC 7 post-fight interview. “It was a good performance on the striking, but if we’re talking about grappling and how I control him, it was not good.

“I thought I would maul him on the ground, but he’s tough, he’s good. Cody is too good and has hard kicks, and he’s a tough man. I think he has more experience than me in the UFC cage, but I win, and I’m happy today I win.”

After defeating Sandhagen, Nurmagomedov got on the microphone and called for the next title shot against the winner of Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili on Sept. 14 at Noche UFC. Nurmagomedov plans to be present at Sphere in Las Vegas for the fight and doesn’t care who wins.

“Yes, I’m planning to go to the fight, but I don’t want to name one guy or the other because I don’t want the other guy to think that I’m trying to avoid fighting him,” Nurmagomedov explained. “So yes, of course, I’d be happy to fight both of them, but the goal is to fight the winner.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 7.