Tag: Zabit Magomedsharipov

Yair Rodriguez Touches On Zabit Magomedsharipov’s Retirement

Yair RodriguezYair Rodriguez has a few things to say about Zabit Magomedsharipov’s recent retirement from the sport.  Magomedsharipov recently decided he would take his talents to the medical field and leave MMA in the rear view mirror. He last competed against Calvin Kattar back in 2019, but issues with COVID and a few other things forced […]

Yair Rodriguez

Yair Rodriguez has a few things to say about Zabit Magomedsharipov’s recent retirement from the sport. 

Magomedsharipov recently decided he would take his talents to the medical field and leave MMA in the rear view mirror. He last competed against Calvin Kattar back in 2019, but issues with COVID and a few other things forced the Russian to stay inactive. 

Magomedsharipov only had one professional loss in his whole professional career back in 2014. He posted on Instagram to announce his retirement form the sport. Many fans had believed that Magomedsharipov was next up to be a world champion, as he had everything one could want in his bag of skills. He was a fantastic grappler, to go along with an extraordinary striking skillset.

Yair Rodriguez and Magomedsharipov never got to settle their bad blood inside the octagon, and it looks like the rivalry matchup will never happen

It would have been a fantastic fight to watch and could have went down as a potential ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate, but with Magomedsharipov’s retirement, it will go on the long list of “dream fights” that never happened.

Rodriguez didn’t hold back on was he though about Magomedsharipov’s retirement:

“Well, I thought he was already retired. So, I wasn’t surprised when I hear like, he officially retired… It’s sad that we never get to fight each other. There was a lot of things between him and I that was said.” Rodriguez said (Transcribed by BJPenn.com)

The two were scheduled to fight a few times, but Rodriguez was forced out with injuries. Rodriguez holds no ill will towards Magomedsharipov in his retirement and pursue in the medical field.

“But I don’t have any bad feelings towards the guy. I wish him the best. I hope he’s healthy. I hope everything’s going well in his life. It’s just sad that we never got to settle what we have.”

Rodriguez Reacts To Zabit’s Retirement, “Sad” They Never Fought

UFC featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez has wished Zabit Magomedsharipov well in his retirement but admitted ‘sadness’ at the fact they’ll now never share the Octagon. After a lengthy period of uncertainty and absence, Zabit recent…

UFC featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez has wished Zabit Magomedsharipov well in his retirement but admitted ‘sadness’ at the fact they’ll now never share the Octagon. After a lengthy period of uncertainty and absence, Zabit recently provided an update on his future that was no doubt disappointing for fans of the sport. At 18-1 and with…

Continue Reading Rodriguez Reacts To Zabit’s Retirement, “Sad” They Never Fought at MMA News.

Zabit Magomedsharipov Informs UFC Of Decision To Retire From Professional MMA

Zabit MagomedsharipovDagestani featherweight standout, Zabit Magomedsharipov has informed the UFC of his decision to retire from professional mixed martial arts with immediate effect – bringing an end to a 10-year professional career. Zabit, who boasts an 18-1 professional record at the time of his retirement from the sport, most recently featured in the main event of […]

Zabit Magomedsharipov

Dagestani featherweight standout, Zabit Magomedsharipov has informed the UFC of his decision to retire from professional mixed martial arts with immediate effect – bringing an end to a 10-year professional career.

Zabit, who boasts an 18-1 professional record at the time of his retirement from the sport, most recently featured in the main event of UFC Fight Night Moscow back in November 2019, earning a unanimous decision win over Calvin Kattar over the course of three rounds. The headliner earned both Zabit and Kattar Fight of the Night honors.

Zabit Magomedsharipov was widely tipped to challenge for UFC gold in the future

Speculation has been rife regarding Zabit’s continued fighting future amid a prolonged health issue, as well as his intentions to become a practising doctor – which he hinted at back in April. And now, per an initial report from MMA Fighting reporter, Guilherme Cruz, Zabit has informed the UFC of his intention to hang up his gloves from professional mixed martial arts with immediate effect. 

Zabit Magomedsharipov was officially removed from the UFC featherweight rankings back in April of last year due to inactivity, with his sole outing since his win over Kattar – a high-stakes headliner against Yair Rodriguez cancelled in August of the year prior due to an ankle injury suffered by the Mexican.

A former ACB featherweight champion, Zabit Magomedsharipov, who plys his trade under the tutelage of head coach, Mark Henry – enjoyed a six-fight, promotional-perfect stint since his September 2017 Octagon debut.

Prior to his win against Kattar, Zabit had defeated Jeremy Stephens, adding the veteran Des Moines native to other wins over Brandon Davis, Kyle Bockniak, Sheymon Moraes, and Mike Santiago. 

A renowned finisher and dynamic striker and grappler, Zabit managed to land an impressive seven career submission wins, to go with a further six separate career knockout wins. Zabit is also a Russian, European, and World Cup victor in Sanda.

Sterling Recalls Being Ragdolled By “Ninja” Zabit In Training

Aljamain Sterling solidified his place as bantamweight champion at UFC 273, but even champions have stories about being outmatched in the gym. “Funk Master” recently made an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience and detailed one of his early experiences training with UFC featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov. “He threw a 360 spinning ninja kick and wrapped…

Continue Reading Sterling Recalls Being Ragdolled By “Ninja” Zabit In Training at MMA News.

Aljamain Sterling solidified his place as bantamweight champion at UFC 273, but even champions have stories about being outmatched in the gym.

“Funk Master” recently made an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience and detailed one of his early experiences training with UFC featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov.

“He threw a 360 spinning ninja kick and wrapped the leg around my neck,” Sterling told Rogan. “I close my eyes. I’d never seen a ninja jump at me like that in a room ever. Like, I’m not in shape, Ray [Longo] asked me to jump in there with this guy, I didn’t know who the hell he was, but I felt like I was set up for failure. [LAUGHS]. He’s throwing sidekicks, he’s doing 360 ninja kicks. So I’m like yo, what in the fuck is going on?”

Sterling is known for his grappling prowess, and he was able to use those skills to control Petr Yan for large periods during their rematch at UFC 273. His control time likely made the difference in earning a decision over Yan, but the 32-year-old recalls being clearly outmuscled by Zabit in their initial training session.

Magomedsharipov hasn’t fought since a unanimous decision over Calvin Kattar in 2019. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

“And he’s a lot bigger than me. I mean, although he (competes at) ’45, I didn’t realize how big he was till he took his shirt off. And he’s doing these sidekicks from both sides. I’m shooting in, he’s pulling me in and hitting me with these judo throws, and I’m just getting ragdolled. I’m like, if I wanted to go up to ’45 at that point in my career, that would (the most) nightmare matchup ever. Like, me and Zabit would not go well. [LAUGHS]”

Magomedsharipov entered the UFC in 2017 and has gone 6-0 with three wins via submission. He last competed in a three-round main event bout against Calvin Kattar in 2019 and won a unanimous decision.

At one point, the Dagestani fighter was one of the UFC’s hottest up-and-comers. He was the #3-ranked featherweight after beating Kattar but has since been removed from the UFC rankings due to his current period of inactivity. Earlier this year the 31-year-old posted on Instagram and indicated that he was pursuing a career in medicine.

Even though it took place years ago, Sterling’s story about this training session will no doubt reignite some discussions about the potential Magomedsharipov had in MMA.

What’s your reaction to this story from Sterling about an old training session with Zabit Magomedsharipov?

Continue Reading Sterling Recalls Being Ragdolled By “Ninja” Zabit In Training at MMA News.

Zabit Releases First Statement Addressing His MMA Retirement

Zabit Magomedsharipov has released his first statement regarding his retirement from MMA. MMA Fighting was the first to report the news of Zabit’s retirement on Wednesday afternoon. The once highly-touted featherweight had not been in action since November 2019, when he headlined a Moscow-held UFC Fight Night card against current top-five contender Calvin Kattar. After…

Continue Reading Zabit Releases First Statement Addressing His MMA Retirement at MMA News.

Zabit Magomedsharipov has released his first statement regarding his retirement from MMA.

MMA Fighting was the first to report the news of Zabit’s retirement on Wednesday afternoon.

The once highly-touted featherweight had not been in action since November 2019, when he headlined a Moscow-held UFC Fight Night card against current top-five contender Calvin Kattar. After emerging victorious, and extending his professional record to 18-1 and his active win streak to 14, Zabit was being tipped for greatness.

As of today, he’s been absent from the cage for over two years, leading to him losing his #3 spot in the 145-pound rankings.

The 31-year-old has long been regarded as the biggest ‘what-if’ in mixed martial arts, and it appears that branding will remain.

Thursday morning, Zabit issued the following statement on Instagram regarding his retirement:

Assalamu alaikum friends! I know that many of you were waiting for my return, there was not a single day that someone did not ask when is my next fight was. But I decided to end my pro sports career.
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Disruptions of fights, and then health problems – all this did not allow me to perform/fight earlier. I have recovered now, but I don’t feel the way I used to.
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Thank you to everyone who has supported me for such a long time. I didn’t have time to become a champion, but I think, even without this, I hope I was able to please/entertain you))
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I cease to be an active athlete, but I do not leave the sport. I have something and with whom to share my knowledge.
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So don’t say goodbye, friends!”

Zabit Trades The Hurt Game For The Healing Game

Earlier this year, the Dagestani took to Instagram, posting an image of himself working on a laptop at a Doctors of the World facility, an organization that describes itself as “an independent humanitarian movement working at home and abroad to empower excluded people to access healthcare.”

Translated from Russian, the caption to Zabit’s post reads, “A new name will soon appear in the medical world of Makhachkala.”

News of Zabit’s pursuit of success outside of the fight game comes just weeks after renowned MMA journalist Ariel Helwani revealed a potential reason for the Dagestani’s decision to distance himself from the cage.

While it’s previously been reported that a health issue related to his immune system has kept Zabit on the sidelines, Helwani revealed a different reason he’d been told in relation to the former Absolute Championship Berkut featherweight titleholder’s inactivity during an edition of The MMA Hour earlier this month.

“The biggest what-if of them all, maybe the greatest what-ifs in UFC history is Zabit… He just disappeared. I’ve asked around… I don’t know if he is (coming back),” said Helwani. “From what I was told, he had like, almost like this moral religious dilemma that he was dealing with. He’s very religious, and I think he reached a point where he just didn’t wanna do it anymore.”.

What do you make of Zabit Magomedsharipov’s decision to retire in pursuit of a career in medicine?

Continue Reading Zabit Releases First Statement Addressing His MMA Retirement at MMA News.

Zabit Magomedsharipov Is On His Way Back To The Octagon Hints Coach

Zabit Magomedsharipov may be on his way back to the Octagon after an absence of almost two years claims coach Mark Henry. Following back-to-back unanimous decision victories over two top UFC featherweight contenders in Calvin Kattar and Jeremy Stephens, ongoing health issues and a dispute with the promotion have unfortunately put his career on hold. […]

Continue Reading Zabit Magomedsharipov Is On His Way Back To The Octagon Hints Coach at MMA News.

Zabit Magomedsharipov may be on his way back to the Octagon after an absence of almost two years claims coach Mark Henry.

Following back-to-back unanimous decision victories over two top UFC featherweight contenders in Calvin Kattar and Jeremy Stephens, ongoing health issues and a dispute with the promotion have unfortunately put his career on hold.

Despite his clear in-ring ability and his six-fight unbeaten run with the company, it was generally believed that Zabit may never step foot inside the octagon again, which would put an end to any dream matchup with Max Holloway, Giga Chikadze, and a long-awaited meeting with Yair Rodriguez.

While there’s no certainty on his comeback date, Mark Henry has surprisingly confirmed that Zabit’s return is imminent and fans of the Russian won’t have to wait too much longer to see him in action.

In a recent post on his Instagram page, Mark Henry was seemingly thrilled to announce Zabit’s comeback to the UFC featherweight division.

“BEST UFC Featherweight ZA-BEAST! HES BACK” coach Henry said.

Zabit was arguably one or two wins away from a 145lb title shot before he was pulled from the rankings. The Dagestani will be hoping to add to his 18-1 record on route to UFC gold upon his return.

There are a handful of potential fighters that would happily welcome the Taekwondo black belt back, and fans can look forward to possible mouth-watering matchups between Zabit and some of the division’s top talent. A fight with The Korean Zombie or an encounter with emerging talents in Arnold Allen and the aforementioned Giga Chikadze could serve as the perfect comeback for the 30-year-old.

Who would you like to see Zabit Magomedsharipov face when he finally makes his return to the UFC?

Continue Reading Zabit Magomedsharipov Is On His Way Back To The Octagon Hints Coach at MMA News.