Zabit Magomedsharipov Says the UFC Top Brass Played a Role in His Retirement
Retired Dagestani phenom Zabit Magomedsharipov has made a shocking claim about his reasons for leaving the UFC involving the UFC brass.
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Zabit Magomedsharipov reveals reason behind retirement [via Yahoo Sports]
- Zabit Magomedsharipov claims the UFC declined to give him a title shot, impacting his decision to retire.
- He retired at 31, having not fought since 2019, despite being a top contender in the featherweight division.
- Magomedsharipov hinted at a potential comeback, citing frustrations with fight cancellations and weight cuts during his career.
Retired Dagestani phenom Zabit Magomedsharipov has made a shocking claim about why he left the UFC. Magomedsharipov gained a lot of fans in his short-lived career but retired from MMA at the height of his popularity. This indeed make him leave a lot of money and potential legacy-defining fights on the table.
Zabit Magomedsharipov had a 6-0 record in the UFC. He had cracked the top 5 at featherweight following his decision win over Calvin Kattar. The Dagestani featherweight looked to be well on his way to a title shot. Moreover, he had championship co-signs from important voices in the sport like Joe Rogan.
However, he now alleges that the UFC declined to give him a title opportunity. The Dagestani fighter explained that multiple fight cancellations and weight cuts took their toll on him.
There were a lot of reasons why I retired. It just never worked out. I wanted to fight. The fights got postponed 3-4 times. We just couldn’t come to an agreement somehow. I was cutting weight going through full training camps… Then you arrive 2-3 weeks before the fight and they tell you, ‘He’s injured’… That happened to me like 5 times. I got tired.
Zabit Magomedsharipov via ACB JJ YT Channel
The retired MMA fighter from Dagestan then revealed why the UFC had refused to give him a title opportunity. However, he refused to name any of the top brass involved.
They just didn’t want to make me champion and I know why too….Because at that time there were already a lot of Russian champions. Khabib (Nurmagomedov) was a champion then, (Petr) Yan too. They didn’t like the idea of a third champion being from Russia.
Zabit Magomedsharipov via ACB JJ YT Channel
The well-rounded fighter walked away from the sport at the peak of both his popularity and his skills. He was 31 when he retired in 2022, with his last fight coming three years prior in 2019. At that time, he was only 28 years old. However, the Dagestani ace did tease a comeback recently.
Nonetheless, Zabit Magomedsharipov’s retirement back in the day was shocking. There were reports of the UFC attempting to coax him back by offering him a title shot. However, back then, it appeared as if a change in career was due for the Dagestani.
Zabit Magomedsharipov teased a medical career during his retirement in 2022
Fans had waited for nearly three years to see Zabit Magomedsharipov after his victory over Calvin Kattar. The Dagestani had been on the sidelines with an immune system issue, coupled with a lack of motivation to return. However, he shocked everyone in the MMA community with the news of his retirement.
In a post that has since been deleted, Magomedsharipov wrote that the “medical world of Makhachkala will soon have a new name.” This came in addition to veteran reporter Ariel Helwani revealing Magomedsharipov’s waning interest in the sport of MMA.
From what I was told, he had 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. Now, his brother fights, and he corners his brother, which I think is very interesting, but obviously, everyone is different.
Ariel Helwani via The MMA Hour
That said, Zabit Magomedsharipov also alluded to his inability to get fights booked as a reason for his retirement back in 2022. He alleged that the UFC did not “keep a promise” that they had made to him. His frustration was more pronounced back then.
Ultimately, Magomedsharipov’s last fight, when he was only 28, was induced by a cocktail of unfortunate circumstances. Magomedsharipov has gone down in history as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, ‘What-Ifs’ in MMA history. With his recent tease, fans may be able to see the Dagestani compete in combat sports again, even if it is limited to grappling for now.
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