The reason for Umar Nurmagomedov’s scratch from the biggest fight of his career is now known.
On Wednesday, MMA Fighting confirmed that the promotion is searching for a new opponent for Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Nashville, which takes place Aug. 5. Nurmagomedov revealed on his Instagram stories that a shoulder injury is the catalyst for his removal of the bout.
Check out video of the injury below.
Along with sharing the video, Nurmagomedov provided an explanation for having to remove himself from the contest.
“Fighting the most important fight in my life with torn shoulder ligaments would be the biggest stupidity of my life,” Nurmagomedov stated. “Going to have surgery soon.”
The undefeated 27-year-old has been surging up the bantamweight rankings with a 4-0 start to his UFC tenure, which includes three finishes. In his most recent outing, Nurmagomedov knocked out Raoni Barcelos in the first round at UFC Vegas 67 in January.
As of now, no opponent has been names for Sandhagen.