At UFC Rotterdam, Zabit Magomedsharipov made his UFC debut and made sure everyone knew his name even if they may not be able to pronounce it. He threw everything at Mike Santiago like it was a video game boss battle. We’re talking Showtime Kicks, sick combos, Judo throws, all leading up to a choke-out victory. Zabit’s sophomore outting at UFC Shanghai was no different. He pulled out all of the stops against Sheymon Moraes before finishing him with an anaconda choke with only 30-seconds remaining in the fight.
Zabit Magomedsharipov isn’t doing this against just anyone. Sheymon Moraes once challenged for the WSOF bantamweight title and only had one loss to pair with his nine wins, that was until he met the lethal Dagestani. This puts Zabit on a 10-fight win streak and in position to start to really make a name for himself. His last and only loss in his pro career was back in 2013. He’ll look to capitalize on his hype train by calling out equally-electric 7th ranked Yair Rodriguez. Dragon Ball Zabit versus Air Rodriguez? That sounds absolutely amazing.
“I’ve proved myself in the top 15 at the least, and I believe I can give a fight to any [of the)] top five in my division. If you ask me who I want to fight, I think I could fight against Yair Rodriguez. I want to fight with him because he’s a special striker, as well. [Taking Sheymon Moraes down for a submission] was the plan. That was the plan for the night because he’s a very, very high-level striker. The plan was to take him down and work there. No pressure. It motivates me because I know so many people round the world are cheering for me. I have so many fans. That kind of surprised me, but that motivates me more.” — Zabit Magomedsharipov speaking to MMA Junkie through a translator.
In the main event of UFC 309, a pivotal bantamweight bout goes down as Petr Yan takes on Deiveson Figueiredo. Heading into the bout, Yan is a -310 favorite while the Brazilian is a +230 underdog on FanDuel.
