Reports have Shara ‘Bullet’ fighting Armen Petrosyan at the UFC’s big Abu Dhabi pay-per-view on October 26th.
Khamzat Chimaev made a massive impression on fight fans after competing for the UFC three times in two months. Now it seems like the promotion is pushing a similar schedule for their new rising star Shara “Bullet” Magomedov, who will fight again at UFC 308 in October.
The colorful “Pirate” may not even be able to get licensed to fight in North America due to being blind in one eye, so the UFC is doing their best to include him in as many of their international cards as possible. Magomedov made his promotional debut in October 2023, defeating Bruno Silva via unanimous decision. Since June 2024, it’s been all gas no brakes for the Dagestani fighter.
He beat Antonio Trocoli via TKO in Saudi Arabia, and then turned around six weeks later to defeat Michal Oleksiejczuk in Abu Dhabi. Now multiple sources (initially reported by Armenia MMA) have him fighting Armen Petrosyan when UFC returns to the UAE for an upcoming pay-per-view in October. It will be Shara’s third fight in four months.
Humanizing Athlete: Shara Magomedov
Shara Bullet lists some of his favorite things ahead of his co-main event this weekend at #UFCAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/GSe4pgch26
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) July 30, 2024
Armen Petrosyan has confirmed the bout is all but confirmed, stating on social media that they are “waiting for the announcement.” But as we’ve learned, anything is possible until the UFC makes it official. As Magomedov mentioned recently, he became a free agent after his last fight, so the UFC would have to sign him a new contract before putting him back to work.
“Bullet” is undoubtedly a potential star for the promotion given his unique look and exciting fight style. He hasn’t been quite as dominant as Khamzat, though. “Borz” cut through his first three opponents in just over nine minutes combined, while Shara has two decisions in three fights. His finish did net him a Performance of the Night bonus, and his scrap with Oleksiejczuk earned them Fight of the Night honors.
A fight against the unranked 8-3 Petrosyan is another small step up for the 14-0 Magomedov, and was probably set up to generate fireworks rather than test Shara’s shortcomings.
Also set for UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway, Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev, Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic, and Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov.