Following in his cousin Khabib's footsteps, Umar Nurmagomedov made a UFC debut to remember by scoring a second-round submission
- Umar Nurmagomedov fought in the UFC for the first time Wednesday, winning in the second round.
- Nurmagomedov choked his opponent Sergey Morozov unconscious with a rear-naked choke.
- The finish was exactly nine years to the day since his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov scored a submission win with the same move, and Khabib said he couldn't have done it better himself.
- Watch the victory below.
FIGHT ISLAND - Umar Nurmagomedov followed in his family's footsteps by creating a UFC debut to remember Wednesday at the Etihad Arena on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
Nurmagomedov scored a second-round rear-naked choke (RNC) submission against Sergey Morozov, nine years to the day after his cousin Khabib beat Kamal Shalorus in his own UFC debut with the very same move in 2012.
Morozov has great experience in mixed martial arts as an M-1 global champion and a Master of Sports in pankration, but Nurmagomedov made a statement by dominating him from the opening round with his persistent grappling.
He varied his attack with kicks to both the head and the body, landing 15 of 25 strikes (52% accuracy) in the first and 17 of 23 (70%) in the second.
But Nurmagomedov was always looking for the takedown opportunity, attempting 11 in total - some of which Morozov stuffed.
The beginning of the end came when, after his final takedown, Nurmagomedov took Morozov's back, hit him with short-range punching, and found the opening for the rear-naked choke.
Before long, Morozov was unconscious.
Watch it here:
Praising Umar in the middle of the Octagon after the win was announced, Khabib said his cousin "did it in the second round [whereas] I did it in the third round."
The UFC commentator Dan Cormier, a former two-weight UFC champion, said: "Congratulations, Umar - you did it better than Khabib!"
Nurmagomedov was flanked by Khabib as he exited the arena.
"I'm very happy," the younger Nurmagomedov said, after advancing his unbeaten pro MMA record to 13 wins (one knockout, six submissions, and six decisions).
"All my hard work has paid off. I have a lot of work ahead. I have to keep working."
He continued: "At the beginning of the fight, I didn't know where I was. It was a bit hard to find my way. In the second round, I was more relaxed and I found my way.
"This is not my best performance. In the future, I'm going to show everything I have. I have much more than what I showed tonight."
Finishing, Nurmagomedov said: "I'm going to go home and enjoy time with my family and my daughter."
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