Umar Nurmagomedov suffered broken hand in first round at UFC 311 but ‘I don’t think I lose this fight’
Umar Nurmagomedov lost one of his primary weapons after suffering a broken hand in the opening round in his title fight against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 on Saturday.
While he’s not exactly sure when it happened, Nurmagomedov knows his ability to throw punches with his left hand was negated almost immediately and that clearly affected him throughout the fight. Ultimately, he lost a unanimous decision following a five-round battle.
Following the fight, Nurmagomedov removed his glove to show the damage done in a photo provided to MMA Fighting by his team at Dominance MMA.
Nurmagomedov requires further testing along with x-rays to better understand the full damage done to his hand, but he’s clearly dealing with significant swelling in the immediate aftermath from his fight.
As far as his performance goes, Nurmagomedov still believes he should be leaving UFC 311 with the bantamweight title around his waist, although he plans to watch the fight back to fully grasp everything that unfolded.
“I think the first round I won, the other [rounds] was close,” Nurmagomedov told UFC color commentator Joe Rogan immediately after the fight ended. “I don’t think I lose this fight but Alhamdulillah, any position, Alhamdulillah. After the first round, I can’t punch because I think I broke my hand. The game goes the other way.
“Any position, Alhamdulillah, good or bad, I will say that, Alhamdulillah, thank you God. I need to watch this video of my fight. I don’t think I lose this fight. I’m not arguing with the judges, I need to rewatch. I need to see all rounds. Nothing [surprised me], I knew he was a tough guy. I broke my hand in the first round.”
Even in defeat, Nurmagomedov still made an admirable showing in his first attempt at becoming UFC champion. He started the fight strong with a dynamic striking display through the first two rounds while stuffing any attempts from Dvalishvili to get him to the ground.
As time passed, Dvalishvili’s pace and pressure started wearing on Nurmagomedov and by the fourth round, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion was surging while building his lead on the scorecards.
In the end, the judges gave Dvalishvili the fight with the scores reading 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 as he retained the belt in his first title defense.
The loss might sting for now, but it’s tough to imagine Nurmagomedov won’t eventually earn his way back to another title shot given his performance on Saturday and the Fight of the Night award he shares with Dvalishvili after UFC 311.