One of the most talented UFC featherweights abruptly retired before making a title run.
Zabit Magomedsharipov surprised many when he decided to walk away from MMA in 2022. He retired on a 14-fight winning streak, and on the cusp of title contention after a Fight of the Night win over Calvin Kattar in November 2019.
So why did Magomedsharipov (18-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) hang up his gloves with so much promise? His manager Abdelaziz pointed to multiple failed bookings with Yair Rodriguez as the main reason.
“No, he’s not coming back,” Abdelaziz said of Magomedsharipov on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast. “Honestly, he got booked like three or four times with Yair Rodriguez. Yair Rodriguez kept pulling out on him, and he just lost love. I’m not going to blame anyone from the UFC. I could have, but I am not going to do it.
“I think it was a little bit of the UFC’s fault, and also maybe a little bit of my fault. I should never have made them book him again with Yair Rodriguez. This guy pulled out three, four times, right? In a way, I think Zabit fell off. He has a lot of businesses, married, and kids. He said, ‘I don’t need to do this.'”
Magomedsharipov still trains and has been seen around his younger brother, Khasan Magomedsharipov (10-0), a 24-year-old undefeated professional MMA fighter, who was most recently seen in action in June 2024 when he defeated Tyler Mathison by unanimous decision at Bellator Champions Series: Dublin.
“I’ll tell you something: Zabit has a brother (Khasan) who I think is much better than Zabit,” Abdelaziz said. “He fights in PFL. He’s 24 years old. He’s the same style as Zabit with a way better gas tank, with way better wrestling and grappling, and his striking, even better. I believe he can come to the UFC today and he’s top five.”
