Umar Nurmagomedov's UFC debut will have to wait a bit longer. The undefeated bantamweight fighter, who is the cousin and teammate of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, has been hospitalized with a staph infection, according to Khabib's Instagram post.
Russian news agency TASS first reported Umar's hospitalization, citing severe flu, fever and vomiting. Khabib later wrote on Instagram that Umar is suffering from a fever brought on by a staph infection.
"For the last few days, Umar has been in a hotel with a high fever, which was caused by a staphylococcal infection," Khabib wrote on Instagram. "But despite this, he and our entire team were determined that he would perform on October 24th. This morning, before our flight to Abu Dhabi, he got worse and was hospitalized in Dubai."
Umar was set to face Sergey Morozov in the early prelims of UFC 254 on Saturday, October 24. He owns a perfect 12-0 record as a pro but has yet to make his Octagon debut. This is the third time that Umar has seen his UFC debut delayed. He was previously scheduled to fight Hunter Azure at UFC 249 in April, but that bout was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak. He was then to fight Nathaniel Wood at Fight Island in July but withdrew following the death of Khabib's father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
It's unknown if the UFC will seek to replace Umar with another opponent to face Morozov. Meanwhile, Khabib will still defend his lightweight belt against Justin Gaethje in the main event unification bout of the pay per view.