Zabit May Walk Away From UFC

Streaking Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight contender Zabit Magomedsharipov may be putting an end to his UFC career.

Per a recent report by Russian news outlet TASS, Magomedsharipov is seriously considering walking away from the sport of MMA. Nothing is official at this time, but a source close to Zabit said there is a high possibility that the talented featherweight will no longer compete.

“With a high degree of probability, Zabit will no longer fight,” said the source.

Following the report, Igor Lazorin of TASS revealed more details regarding Zabit’s potential retirement:

Magomedsharipov, 30, burst onto the UFC scene back in 2017 and has amassed a 6-0 record ever since. The featherweight contender already holds win over notable fighters like Calvin Katter and Jeremy Stephens, and was hoping to fight his way into a title shot in 2021.

Unfortunately, Zabit can’t seem to find a fight. The Russian fighter was expected to face Yair Rodriguez in Aug. 2020 but Rodriguez was forced to pull out of the bout and UFC officials never found a replacement. Remember, Zabit hasn’t competed since his UFC main event debut against Kattar back in Nov. 2019.

Considering Zabit fought four times in one year to start his UFC career this lengthy layoff has to be killing him, especially considering he has the talent to fight for the featherweight title right now. It’s unlikely that UFC would let Zabit walk without trying to entice him back into the fold with a high-profile bout, but it’s already taken the promotion this long so who really knows how this will play out.

If Magomedsharipov is looking for a big fight to keep himself going and UFC is going to try to keep him around then maybe a matchup with former UFC featherweight Max Holloway is in the cards. It makes the most sense right now considering current champion Alexander Volkanovski is scheduled to fight Brian Ortega later this year and fellow contenders Dan Ige and Chan Sung Jung will square off with one another this June.

What say you, Maniacs? Should UFC do what it can to keep Zabit around?

Let us know in the comments section below!