Zabit Magomedsharipov blames UFC, failed bookings for early retirement

TL;DR

Zabit Magomedsharipov retired from MMA due to frustrations with the UFC and multiple failed fight bookings, particularly against Yair Rodriguez. He last fought in November 2019 and cited the toll of repeated postponements as a key reason for his decision.

Key points

Zabit Magomedsharipov retired from MMA in 2022
He faced multiple failed bookings with Yair Rodriguez
Magomedsharipov last fought in November 2019
He expressed frustration with the UFC's handling of fight arrangements
His record stands at 18-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC

Zabit MagomedsharipovCalvin KattarYair Rodriguez

Zabit Magomedsharipov says several factors lead to his decision to hang up the gloves.

Magomedsharipov (18-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is one of the biggest what ifs in MMA after rising to top featherweight contention, but abruptly retiring. Magomedsharipov, 35, last competed when he defeated Calvin Kattar in a Fight of the Night in November 2019.

He saw numerous bookings with Yair Rodriguez scrapped, which lead to his frustration with the UFC and his eventual retirement in 2022.

"There were a lot of reasons – so many reasons," Magomedsharipov told AC BJJ. "(UFC) just couldn't make the (Rodriguez) fight happen. I wanted to fight, but like three or four times, they'd postpone fights and we couldn't make a deal. 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. 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 back home again, and start getting ready all over again. Imagine that about 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'd automatically give me the title fight. That's what we talked about. And the third time, he found excuses. He came up with a lot of reasons. Then they started offering me somebody else, first (Chan Sung Jung), 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. At that time, we already had a lot of champions from Russia. Khabib (Nurmagomedov) was the champion then and (Petr) Yan, and because of that, it wasn't beneficial for them that a third champion would be from Russia."

Magomedsharipov recently signed with Russian grappling league ACBJJ, a spinoff of Russian promotion ACA. In an interview with MMA Junkie last July, manager Ali Abdelaziz pointed to the same reasons when asked about Magomedsharipov's retirement.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Zabit Magomedsharipov: UFC didn't want to make me a champion

Q&A

Why did Zabit Magomedsharipov retire from MMA?

Zabit Magomedsharipov retired due to frustrations with the UFC over multiple failed fight bookings, particularly against Yair Rodriguez.

What were the circumstances surrounding Zabit Magomedsharipov's retirement?

His retirement was influenced by repeated postponements of fights, which left him exhausted from training camps and weight cuts without the opportunity to compete.

When did Zabit Magomedsharipov last compete in the UFC?

Zabit Magomedsharipov last competed in the UFC in November 2019, where he won against Calvin Kattar.