Zabit Magomedsharipov has been away from the cage for quite some time for a fighter who was tearing through his division.
Once one of the most active featherweights in the UFC who competed four times in a 12-month period to start his career with the promotion, Magomedsharipov has been out of action since Nov. 2019.
His manager and CEO of Dominance MMA, Ali Abdelaziz, suggests his inactivity since his last appearance is due to issues with opponents not showing up, specifically Yair Rodriguez.
“This is the truth, he’s supposed to fight Yair four times,” Abdelaziz said. “Yair pulled out four times. One of them, the UFC cut him because he didn’t want to fight Zabit.”
Rodriguez and Magomedsharipov were scheduled to meet initially at UFC 228 in 2018, but injuries have delayed the matchup since, including the latest booking falling through at UFC Fight Night 175 nearly a year ago. Both sides have blamed the other throughout the years. In April, Rodriguez said, “I’m f***ing dying to fight him with all the crap he’s talking about.”
Abdelaziz sees it differently. “I think he’s been having nightmares about Zabit,” Abdelaziz stated. “Zabit said, ‘I been around the business for so many years, I have the longest win streak in the division, I deserve a title shot.’ And he’s getting turned off by the whole thing, you know? And I don’t blame him.”
“At the end of the day, it’s the name of the game,” Abdelaziz said. “It’s hard to do four training camps for one guy and he’s not shown up.”
While there have been rumors of issues with his health and his desire to still compete, Abdelaziz intends to meet with Magomedsharipov soon to discuss the next move in his career.
Magomedsharipov, 30, is undefeated through six fights in the UFC and was knocking on the door of a title shot before his period of inactivity.
“I’m gonna see him in a couple of weeks…and we’re gonna make a decision on what he’s gonna do,” Abdelaziz said.
“If Zabit decides tomorrow he’s gonna hang it up, I’m good with that. If he decides he wants to move forward and fight, I’m good with that too.”
Watch the full interview with Abdelaziz below.
