Outside Source
Magomedsharipov (18-1) is one of the biggest “what ifs” in MMA history. From elite striking to grappling, the Dagestani standout could seemingly do it all. However, Magomedsharipov fought for the last time in 2019 and officially retired in 2022 to pursue a career in medicine.
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Magomedsharipov recently opened up about his premature retirement. Magomedsharipov blames multiple fight cancellations, which eventually took a toll on him. Magomedsharipov particularly notes that he had multiple fights against fellow featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez canceled. After going through multiple training camps and weight cuts, only to have Rodriguez pull out at the last minute, Magomedsharipov had enough.
Rodriguez was even briefly released from the UFC after allegedly refusing to fight Magomedsharipov. While Rodriguez was supposed to fight Magomedsharipov upon his return to the UFC, the Mexican pulled out again. However, Magomedsharipov also holds the UFC responsible. Magomedsharipov claims that he had a deal with the UFC that he would be granted the title shot if Rodriguez pulled out a third time. However, the UFC allegedly didn’t keep its word, and Magomedsharipov believes he knows why. According to Magomedsharipov, with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Petr Yan already being champions, the UFC didn’t want a third champion from Russia at the time. Magomedsharipov admits that the UFC was promoting him well before Nurmagomedov and Yan became champions.
‘How Much Can You Take?’
“Three or four times they had postponed fights and we couldn’t make a deal,” Magomedsharipov told Absolute Championship of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (ACBJJ). “But all these times I was making weight, going through camps, flying out to America. And by the time you get there, you’ve already been through so much: weight cut, training camp and everything. And then you arrive, and two or three weeks before the fight, they tell you, ‘That’s it, he’s injured.’ And they postpone again. I’d go home again and start getting ready all over again. Imagine that like five times. I got tired of it, like, how much can you take?
“We had some agreements with them: if he pulls out of the fight a third time, they would automatically give me the title fight. And the third time he found excuses… Then they started offering me someone else, first ‘Zombie,’ then some other guy. But really at that time it was just me and Rodriguez; the two of us were contenders. And they just didn’t want to make me a champion. I know why, too. Because at that time we already had a lot of champions from Russia. Khabib was the champion then, and Yan. And because of that it wasn’t beneficial for them that a third champion would be from Russia. At first, before [Khabib and Yan] were around, they promoted me really well.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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