Umar Nurmagomedov’s coach cites ‘extreme pressure’ UFC star is under ahead of UFC 321 return

UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov faces ‘extreme pressure’ at UFC 321, according to his longtime coach.

Umar Nurmagomedov will return to the Octagon next month at UFC 321 as he looks to bounce back from the lone setback of his fighting career. Earlier this year, Nurmagomedov lost a unanimous decision to UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311, a stunning result for some.

Nurmagomedov and Mario Bautista clash in a pivotal bantamweight bout next month at Madison Square Garden. It’s an important fight for the bantamweight division’s title picture and an opportunity for Nurmagomedov to earn another potential title shot.

Nurmagomedov isn’t a stranger to being under a massive spotlight, due to his family’s legacy in Mixed Martial Arts.

Coach: Umar Nurmagomedov faces the most important fight of his career at UFC 321

During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Nurmagomedov’s coach Javier Mendez admitted that his star pupil faces a new level of pressure entering his UFC 321 return.

“There’s extreme pressure on him,” Mendez said of Nurmagomedov. “He’s had a lot of pressure in this one because you’ve got to understand (that) he carries the last name. There’s a big honor in that, and Usman his brother is undefeated, Khabib is undefeated, he was undefeated. There’s a lot of pressure. He was doing what Khabib was doing at an earlier stage, so there was a lot of comparisons. I called him ‘Young Eagle.’ Come on, you’ve got to be realistic.

“There’s a lot of pressure on him, and now he has to rebound from the loss and come stronger, and it was not an easy journey. It was a physical and a mental journey for him. He’s such a fighter and fierce competitor, and he wants it. So, he showed it to us yesterday in his sparring.

“Yes, I base everything on their sparring. I don’t base it on what they think,” Mendez continued. “No, I base it on how I see, what I feel, when I see, and I’ve seen some great sparring from him that it was unbelievable for me.”