Featherweight promise, Zabit Magomedsharipov returns to training and indicates a return to Ultimate

Z. Magomedsharipov stood out in the featherweight division Photo: Facebook/UFC

Away from the octagon just over two years ago, the Russian Zabit Magomedsharipov may be close to returning to the Ultimate Octagon. In an interview with 'MMA Junkie', his manager, Ali Abdelaziz revealed that the featherweight (up to 65,7kg) has already returned to training and that he should meet with UFC officials soon, to discuss his next fight.

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“Zabit is training. He is part of the USADA program, but he had some health problems. He's back training and I think that's a conversation that the UFC and I will probably have next week, to see what the future holds for him, and we'll see what happens. But I believe he is one of the toughest guys in the division. I believe he can be champion. Alexander (Volkanovski) is a great champion, but I think Zabit is on a different level,” said Abdelaziz.

Hired by Ultimate in 2017, Zabit achieved a meteoric rise and won six consecutive victories, in dominant fashion, in the most famous octagon in the world. The Russian was part of the ranking in the division led by Volkanovski, but was removed due to long inactivity. Magomedsharipov was absent from the ring due to a series of injuries and a complicated health problem. His last fight was in November 2019, when he defeated Calvin kattar in the unanimous decision of the judges.