Islam Makhachev gets candid about watching Umar Nurmagomedov lose while warming up for UFC 311 main event: “He made some mistakes”

Umar Nurmagomedov suffered his first career defeat at UFC 311 when he challenged Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title. A close friend and teammate of his, Islam Makhachev, competed in the next fight, where he defended his lightweight title against Renato Moicano.

The level of dominance displayed by the Nurmagomedov clan meant that the defeat handed to 'Young Eagle' has become a much-discussed result since it happened.

Makhachev appeared in front of the media following his win over Moicano and was asked to share his feelings on watching Nurmagomedov lose while warming up backstage. He said:

"Honestly, it was hard. I tried to warm up but I still watched the whole fight. Of course it made me a little bit sad, but Umar [was] looking good. Umar is still young, still hungry. He has time. Because he's still young, he made some mistakes in this fight. Merab did his job very well and they had a close fight. Umar did not take damage."

The lightweight champion added:

"It's okay, he broke his arm also. 100% I think he will come back, because he's young, still hungry and he's gonna be UFC champion one day."

Catch Islam Makhachev discuss Umar Nurmagomedov's loss below (5:45):

---

Merab Dvalishvili opens up on back injury suffered while preparing for Umar Nurmagomedov

UFC 311 saw Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov go to war for the bantamweight title. The pair shared heated words ahead of the bout, with the title challenger accusing Dvalishvili of avoiding a matchup with him.

The champion, on the other hand, was adamant that Nurmagomedov did not deserve a title shot. Their verbal sparring led to 'The Machine' threatening to slap his opponent for disrespecting him, but following the fight the pair appear to be on better terms.

It was reported by Nurmagomedov's manager after the bout that he had broken his hand in Round 1 of his clash with Dvalishvili. During an interview with ESPN MMA, the champion also shared details of several injuries he entered the title bout with.

He said:

"I had an infection in my leg, and also I hurt my back. It was risky, I'm a champion, I want proper training. I will never disappoint the UFC, the UFC gave me everything. How am I not going to take this risk? Thank God it worked out [well]."

Catch Merab Dvalishvili's comments after beating Umar Nurmagomedov below (1:05):