Undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov Faces Brian Kelleher at UFC 272

First announced by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Umar Nurmagomedov will take on Brian Kelleher on March 5. Emanating from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, UFC 272 will be headlined by a welterweight grudge match between Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal and Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington. 

Umar Nurmagomedov (13-0, 1-0 UFC) was originally scheduled to face fellow undefeated prospect Jack Shore at UFC London, on March 19, but that bout was scrapped in December. Now Nurmagomedov looks to earn his second win under the UFC banner against seasoned veteran Brian Kelleher. 

Fighting out of Chelyabinsk, Russia, Umar is the cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Like his cousin, Umar is sporting an undefeated record which includes a submission victory over Sergey Morozov in January 2021. 

After more than a year, Umar Nurmagomedov will step back into the Octagon for his sophomore effort, but he will have a tough test against the man they call ‘Boom.’

Brian Kelleher (24-12, 8-5 UFC) has not strung together more than two wins since debuting with the promotion in 2017. At UFC 272, he’ll have the opportunity to make it three-in-a-row against the undefeated Nurmagomedov. 

Kelleher returns to the bantamweight division after a brief stop at 145 in his last outing; a successful one against late-replacement Kevin Croom on Jan. 15. With a win over an undefeated prospect, ‘Boom’ could be rewarded with a number next to his name.

With this addition to the UFC 272 lineup, bouts currently scheduled for the event include:

• Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Marina Rodriguez vs. Yan Xiaonan
• Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell
• Greg Hardy vs. Serghei Spivac
• Erick Gonzalez vs. Devonte Smith
• Mariya Agapova vs. Maryna Moroz
• Jamie Mullarkey vs. Jalin Turner
• Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Ihor Potieria
• Kevin Holland vs. Alex Oliveira
• Jessica Eye vs. Manon Fiorot
• Tim Elliott vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
• Dustin Jacoby vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk

Card subject to change.

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