Nurmagomedov has previously competed in the Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC) and Professional Fighters League (PFL).

As a child, living in his native village, with his brother Usman Nurmagomedov, he began to attend freestyle wrestling practice.

[11] After moving to Makhachkala, Umar began training with his uncle, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov at the Eagles MMA camp.

[12][13] The following year, he won the bantamweight division in amateur mixed martial arts at the WMMAA World Championship.

In his sophomore performance, Umar fought Ulukbek Amanbaev at Fight Star: Battle on Sura 6 on January 5, 2017, winning inside the first round by the way of rear-naked choke.

[14] On August 30, 2018, Nurmagomedov fought at PFL 7 against future UFC fighter Saidyokub Kakhramonov, winning the bout by unanimous decision.

[15] Returning to Samara MMA Federation, Umar defended his title at Battle on the Volga 10 on April 14, 2019, where he defeated Brazilian Wagner Lima by unanimous decision.

With his title once again on the line (with Samara MMA Federation changing its name to Gorilla Fighting Championship), Umar defeated Taras Gryckiv at GFC 14 on July 13, 2019, by rear-naked choke in the first round.

[16][17] On November 23, 2019, in the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Umar defended his title against Argentine fighter Brian Gonzalez, defeating his opponent via rear-naked choke at the end of the first round.

[40] After being clipped early in the first round, Nurmagomedov took over and dominated the majority of the bout on the ground with strikes leading to a victory by unanimous decision.

[49] Nurmagomedov was scheduled to compete against former two-time Bellator Bantamweight World Champion Eduardo Dantas in a no-gi featherweight grappling match on October 25, 2024 in the main event at ADXC 6 but the bout was cancelled.