One of MMA’s biggest ‘what-if’ Zabit Magomedsharipov remained just that. Once regarded as a can’t-miss prospect and a future UFC featherweight champion, Magomedsharipov appeared destined for superstardom inside the Octagon. But that promise was never realized. Now, the Russian fighter is blaming the UFC for derailing his championship ambitions.
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“They just didn’t want to make me champion,” Magomedsharipov told ACBJJ. “Because at that time, there were already a lot of Russian champions. Khabib was champion then, Yan too. They didn’t like the idea of a third champion being from Russia. But before that, while those guys weren’t champions yet, they were promoting me really well…”
Back when he was active, the 35-year-old tore through the promotion’s ranks from 2017-19. And he won all six of his bouts while defeating the likes of Calvin Kattar and Jeremy Stephens. He was supposed to face Yair Rodriguez in a potential No. 1 contender bout back in August 2020. But the latter withdrew from the fight due to an injury. Magomedsharipov never fought again.
“There were a lot of reasons [I retired],” Magomedsharipov added. “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, flying out to America… and when you’ve already gone through the whole process, the weight cut, training, camp, everything, then you arrive, and 2-3 weeks before the fight, they tell you, ‘That’s it, he’s injured,’ and they postpone it again. So I’d go back home.
“Then I’d start preparing all over again. Imagine going through all that every time. That happened to me like 5 times. I got tired too. How much can a person take? We had some kind of agreement with them that if he pulled out a third time, they’d automatically give me the title shot. Those conversations happened. But the third time, they found a lot of excuses again.
Zabit Magomedsharipov says the UFC didn’t want him to become champion since there were already several Russian UFC champions:
“They just didn’t want to make me champion. Because at that time there were already a lot of Russian champions. Khabib was champion then, Yan too. They Show more
“Then they started offering me different opponents, Zombie and others. But realistically, at that moment, it was me and Rodriguez who were the real contenders.”
Eventually, in April 2021, Magomedsharipov was removed from the UFC’s featherweight rankings due to his inactivity. Before his removal, he was ranked No. 3 in the featherweight division. He later confirmed his abrupt retirement from the sport in 2024. At the time, a variety of health issues were cited as the reason.
But recently, he appears to have returned to MMA.
Zabit Magomedsharipov signed with ACBJJ
In February earlier this year, Zabit Magomedsharipov announced that he had signed with the Absolute Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (ACBJJ). It’s the same Russian grappling promotion where the likes of Arman Tsarukyan and Alexander Volkov had previously featured.
“Major decisions are made in silence,” ACBJJ president Zaurbek Khasiev said in a statement. “Negotiations are complete. Zabit Magomedsharipov joins ACBJJ. We are assembling the elite. Stay tuned.”
According to reports, the 35-year-old will make his debut in the promotion at ACBJJ 21 on July 5, 2026, in Moscow at 154 lbs. It will be over six years since Magomedsharipov last fought in the UFC. While a fight appears to have been confirmed, an opponent has yet to be revealed.
Zabit Magomedsharipov’s story shows that just signing with the biggest MMA promotion in the world doesn’t guarantee success. Even though he had limitless potential, if you are not in the promotion’s good graces, they will discard you.
