Umar Nurmagomedov’s bad luck continues when it comes to making his UFC debut.
The younger cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov was set to make his promotional debut against fellow debutant Sergei Morozov in a bantamweight bout at UFC 254 next weekend.
However, Nurmagomedov is now out following a staph infection that led to him being hospitalized in Dubai. The news was shared by Khabib on Instagram (via translation).
“The last few days, Umar has been in a hotel with a high fever, which was caused by a staphylococcal infection. But despite this, he and our entire team were determined that he would perform on October 24th. This morning, before our flight to Abu Dhabi, he got worse and was hospitalized in Dubai. Get well brother, so it was meant to be.”
For Nurmagomedov, it is now the third time his UFC debut has been scrapped with his first two scheduled fights off following initial COVID-19 restrictions and the death of his uncle Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov respectively.
Khabib Nurmagomedov Still Competing At UFC 254
To make matters more worrying, there were reports that the situation puts Khabib’s fight with Justin Gaethje in jeopardy as he was training alongside Umar during their camp.
However, as per MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, the fight is still on for now.
Not an ideal message to see today, but I have spoken with multiple UFC officials who assure me the @TeamKhabib fight at #UFC254 is “still 100 percent on.”
Not an ideal message to see today, but I have spoken with multiple UFC officials who assure me the @TeamKhabib fight at #UFC254 is “still 100 percent on." https://t.co/dECt2guIne
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) October 18, 2020
Hopefully, there are no further complications as we head into UFC 254 fight week.
