One tap on Instagram, and the lightweight rumor mill is spinning again.
Usman Nurmagomedov liked an Instagram post about him signing with the UFC, according to MMA reporter Dovy (@DovySimuMMA). “Usman Nurmagomedov likes a post on IG about him signing with the UFC,” he wrote on X Tuesday night, adding, “We could see an official announcement during UFC 334.”
That is the whole evidence trail right now. One like. No signed contract, no statement from the UFC, nothing from Nurmagomedov’s camp in anything published so far. Until somebody puts pen to paper, this is a rumor.
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So why does a single like matter this much? Look at the résumé. Nurmagomedov is 22-0, sits No. 10 in Knockout Daily’s lightweight rankings and trains at American Kickboxing Academy. He’s listed as a free agent while still holding the PFL lightweight title as the promotion’s inaugural champion, and as of January 27, 2026, he was No. 1 in the PFL men’s pound-for-pound rankings. Before PFL, he was the last man to wear Bellator’s lightweight belt, which he took from Patricky Pitbull by unanimous decision at Bellator 288 in November 2022. His most recent fight came on July 31, 2026.
The Bellator run that built the hype was a fun one. After outpointing Mike Hamel in his April 2021 debut at Bellator 255, mostly by kicking from range and refusing to let Hamel settle in, he finished his next three opponents in the first round. He dropped Manny Muro with a knee and closed it with hammerfists, took Patrik Pietilä’s back for a rear-naked choke at a 160-pound catchweight, then tripped Chris Gonzalez straight into a guillotine.
Then there’s the last name. He’s the younger brother of UFC fighter Umar Nurmagomedov and a cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. He came up at Eagles MMA in Makhachkala under his uncle, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, training alongside Khabib and Islam Makhachev.
If the UFC does make it official during the UFC 334 broadcast, as Dovy suggested it might, the company gets a 28-year-old unbeaten lightweight with two promotional titles already on his record. My only request: skip the soft landing. A guy who’s 22-0 with belts from Bellator and PFL should get a ranked name in his first walk to the Octagon.
For now, all anyone can point to is a heart under an Instagram post.
