Umar Nurmagomedov-Brian Kelleher Joins UFC 272 Lineup on March 5

Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Brian Kelleher (@brianboom135) has been added to UFC 272 on March 5, per sources. In addition to the fight, Kelleher has signed a new UFC deal, as he announced recently. pic.twitter.com/6IMHXDt56S

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 10, 2022

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The unbeaten cousin of Ultimate Fighting Championship great Khabib Nurmagomedov is getting the toughest test in his young career.

Per the UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN on Thursday, Umar Nurmagomedov (13-0) has his second UFC outing booked. At UFC 272 on March 5 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nurmagomedov will take on Brian Kelleher (24-12) in the bantamweight division. Kelleher confirmed the pairing shortly after its announcement via his Instagram Stories page, while also noting that he has a new four-fight deal with the organization.

Nurmagomedov surged into the organization with an unbeaten record of 12-0, which included a pair of victories on the Professional Fighters League roster, to match up against Sergey Morozov at the beginning of 2021. There, the Dagestan native cruised through the fight before locking down a rear-naked choke that put his foe to sleep in the second round. With submissions his preferred method of victory, all but one in his career have come via rear-naked choke.

“Boom” Kelleher will come into this battle with momentum of a two-fight win streak behind him. In August 2021, Kelleher bounced back from defeat to take a unanimous decision over Domingo Pilarte. In January, he faced Kevin Croom on short notice, and ultimately won out on the scorecards. Through a career that has seen him amass a finish rate of 75%, Kelleher has topped names including Renan Barao, Julio Arce twice and Iuri Alcantara over the years. Since Nurmagomedov’s last appearance in January 2021, Kelleher has stepped into the Octagon three times.

UFC 272 will go down on March 5 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, in a rare pay-per-view with no championship on the line. Capping off the card will be a welterweight grudge match pitting ex-title challengers against one another when Colby Covington takes on Jorge Masvidal. Other bouts on the main card include a strawweight tilt pitting Marina Rodriguez against Xiaonan Yan, and a featherweight stylistic clash between Edson Barboza and Bryce Mitchell.