The UFC might want to sign free-agent lightweight Usman Nurmagomedov, but it can’t happen just yet due to the PFL holding his signing rights.
With a 22-0, 1 NC record, it’s easy to see why UFC president Dana White wants to bring Nurmagomedov to the world’s leading MMA promotion.
However, before the UFC can even speak to Nurmagomedov as a free agent, PFL — his longtime organization — has a 90-day exclusive negotiating window to talk about a new contract with the Russian before he can hit unrestricted free agent.
Usman Nurmagomedov to UFC Hits Roadblock
Speaking to MMAjunkie.com, Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz confirmed that PFL has 90 days to try to sign his client to a contract before the UFC can even make him an offer.
“In the next 90 days, they have an exclusive negotiation. And after that, I’m going to talk to other people, and we’ll figure it out. It’s always good business with these guys. But in a way, we have friendly relationship. They can tell me go ahead and talk to other people to cut the time off. And I’ll talk to other people, but everything is on the up and up. I don’t hide things from people. There’s been many deals. Kayla (Harrison) kept re-signing, re-signing, re-signing,” Abdelaziz said.
“At one point, they said, ‘You know what? We wish Kayla the best of luck,’ and Kayla left. And this might happen. They might say, ‘We want to wish Usman the best of luck,’ and Usman can go somewhere else, right? But at the end of the day, right now it’s not like 100 percent he’s leaving going to the UFC. It doesn’t work like that. It has to be a lot of decisions. I have to negotiate, he has to like it, Khabib (Nurmagomedov) has to sign off on it, and this is how we work.”
Usman Nurmagomedov is a Stud
At just 28 years of age, Nurmagomedov is a stud fighter in the prime of his MMA career.
He is the PFL lightweight champion, and he was the Bellator MMA lightweight champion before that, so his resume is absolutely stacked and incredible for someone who has not fought outside of the UFC yet. Again, his MMA record is 22-0, 1 NC, and it simply doesn’t get better than that.
Of course, he has not been fighting top-shelf competition in the PFL and previously in Bellator MMA, which he certainly will be doing when and if he comes to the UFC. But he is more than ready to join his brother Umar Nurmagomedov on the UFC roster and get a chance to bring another belt home to the Nurmagomedov household after his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov was the former UFC lightweight champion.
While the UFC does feel like the frontrunner to ink Nurmagomedov, it’s not a done deal by any means, and PFL is certainly going to try and ink him to a new contract before he hits unrestricted free agency, though he likely will wait to do so so that he can speak to the UFC.
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