Reports emerging from Russia indicate that rising featherweight star Zabit Magomedsharipov is on the verge of announcing his retirement from mixed martial arts.
The 30-year-old Magomedsharipov owns a 18-1 career record in mixed martial arts as well as a perfect 6-0 ledger in the UFC but was recently removed from the organisation’s 145-pound rankings due to inactivity, having not competed since a November 2019 win against Calvin Kattar which topped the card in a event in Moscow.
Since then, though, Magomedsharipov’s output has lessened and little has been heard of the spectacular featherweight who had garnered legions of fans across the globe owing to his outstanding and creative striking style. He had been continually linked to a fight with fellow 145-pounder Yair Rodriguez, but the latest news regarding him has obviously thrown that into question.
Prior to being removed from the rankings, Zabit was listed in third place at featherweight.
“With a high degree of probability, Zabit will no longer fight,” a source told the Tass news agency.
However, the same source did leave a glimmer of hope for fans of the Russian standout, and said that there remains a chance he could accept a fight booking for this summer.
No further information was given as to the motivation of Magomedsharipov’s supposed reluctance to continue his fighter career.
