Zabit Magomedsharipov says the UFC put an immediate title shot on the table to try and lure him out of retirement

Zabit Magomedsharipov has claimed that the Ultimate Fighting Championship offered him a title shot to try and get him out of retirement.

In recent years, Zabit Magomedsharipov has been one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ in mixed martial arts. Beyond that, you could argue that claim extends to the entire history of the sport. With an 18-1 pro record and a 6-0 record in the UFC, it always felt as if Zabit was destined for a world title. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen him in the Octagon since November 2019 when he beat Calvin Kattar.

The reason for that is that he retired from active competition last summer due to a string of health issues. Many have hoped that he’d eventually come back, but that hasn’t been the case for the 32-year-old.

RELATED: ZABIT MAGOMEDSHARIPOV SAYS BROKEN PROMISES FROM THE UFC RESULTED IN HIS RETIREMENT FROM MMA

During a recent interview, Zabit briefly revealed that he was offered the chance to fight for the gold as a way to try and facilitate his return.

Zabit’s struggles

“They immediately offered a battle for the belt, but I still said no,” Magomedsharipov said.

Quotes via MMA News

For most fans, the idea of Zabit Magomedsharipov going up against Alexander Volkanovski is fascinating. In equal measure, though, it’s been a long time since we saw him compete. He may not be a fan of coming back due to his health issues or, as he’s stated before, perhaps he doesn’t trust the UFC anymore.

The featherweight division has some absolute killers residing in it. Still, it’d be nice to see Zabit pop back up again.

Are you interested in the idea of Zabit Magomedsharipov getting an immediate UFC title shot? What other match-ups would you love to see for him? Let us know your thoughts on this, BJPENN Nation!