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Chael Sonnen picked Said Nurmagomedov as his MVP of UFC 270. Despite the other great performances that night, including the co-main event and main event, Sonnen felt the Russian stood out the most.
In a recent episode of Beyond The Fight, 'The American Gangster' made his case for why the up-and-coming bantamweight's performance was the best of the night. He explained that the Dagestani put on a masterful display of his MMA expertise within just 40 seconds:
"What Nurmagmedov did and how he did it, he did everything you could do to a human being in 40 seconds... Stamann is a straight up bad-a**, you have to understand that. And Stamann came to fight… Stamann came across that ring and he started throwing heat with bad intentions. Nurmagomedov hit him in the mouth, spin, kick him in the bread basket, locked him up, dragged him to the ground, [and] tapped him out. He did all of these things in 40 seconds. It was the single greatest performance of the night."
Nurmagomedov was able to submit Cody Stamann in 47 seconds with a tight guillotine choke after defending a takedown. Leading up to the quick submission victory, the Akhmat Fight Team fighter was able to land multiple spinning attacks.
With that win, the Russian has bested nine out of his last 10 opponents, including four first-round finishes. Meanwhile, 'The Spartan' adds another loss to his dry spell and is now on a three-fight skid.
Said Nurmagomedov wants a top 15 opponent or Marlon 'Chito' Vera for a future bout
Said Nurmagomedov was brimming with confidence coming off his spectacular submission victory against Cody Stamann. His morale was high enough to want a top 15 fighter for his next opponent, even calling out No.8-ranked Marlon Vera by name.
In the UFC 270 post-fight interview, the Russian was asked whether or not he had any future opponents in mind. Through a translator, he said:
"I talk about [Marlon] 'Chito' Vera before, [but I would fight] any top opponent."
Another reporter asked the unranked bantamweight if he had seen Vera, who was in attendance that night. Nurmagomedov explained that he noticed him, but he didn't acknowledge 'Chito' because he was focused on his fight.
Watch Said Nurmagomedov call out his next opponent below (Begins at 2:10):
