Cachorrão (left) is Zabit’s jiu-jitsu teacher (right) (Photo: Reproduction/Arquivopersonal)
The name is difficult to pronounce, but it is good to remember. With just two fights in the UFC, the featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov has been impressing with his dominant performances in the biggest Octagon in the world, where he emerged with two submission victories, the most recent against Sheymon Moraes at UFC China, held last Saturday (25).
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In an interview with the Combate channel website, Ricardo Cachorrão, Zabit's jiu-jitsu coach, was full of praise for his pupil. According to the Brazilian, the Russian, although not yet at his peak, is fully capable of winning the UFC belt in the near future.
“Barring an incident, an injury like that that ends up happening, I see him at least fighting for the title. But I think he has everything to be champion. But even with all this skill and this unique characteristic, he is still a diamond in the rough. It is not fully polished, and this takes a few years. We also get to know the guy better, gaining his confidence, understanding the language better, and he learns English. I think he still has a lot to improve”, declared Ricardo.
Cachorrão, who teaches at Ricardo Almeida Jiu-Jítsu, in New York (USA), revealed that Magomedsharipov joined the team just over a year ago to help with a training camp. Frankie Edgar. When showing his skills in the gym, the coaches had no doubts: the Russian was already a reality in MMA.
“For one of Edgar’s fights, he brought Zabit for the first time, and that’s been over a year ago. Zabit liked it and stayed here for about three months. He's one of those guys that anyone who sees immediately recognizes his talent. We have guys like Frankie Edgar, Marlon moraes, Edson Barboza and Eddie Alvarez, everyone more or less within the weight that everyone can train with each other, and I really wasn't used to seeing someone from the outside giving our guys a hard time. From the first training session he gave here, Zabit impressed not only with his technique, but with his creativity and intangible skills. He doesn't get tired, he's not afraid, and he listens well despite the language barrier, as he doesn't speak English very well”, said Cachorrão, who concluded by further praising Zabit's diversity at the time of the fight, being able to control the fight in any area. .
“In training, it’s more or less what we see in the fight. He comes from the striker, his specialty is Wushu-Sanda, that Chinese kickboxing where guys take downs. But he's from Dagestan, where it seems people are born knowing wrestling. (…) He has very good wrestling and a very creative striker, he is a very intelligent fighter and easy to work with. Not only does he have a lot of skill, but he has a lot of physical attributes and listens well. I teach him a jiu-jitsu position and in a little while I'll see him rolling with the guys and trying to do it. Sometimes you do it, sometimes you don't, because it's very difficult to keep your jiu-jitsu sharp, they train two or three times a week just for that. But the best way to describe him – Mark and I always say this – is: he was the first guy who got here as a complete mixed martial artist. He is good at everything, not a little of everything, he is excellent at everything. Even on the floor he is different. We've already seen this in both fights (in the UFC), the ability to dominate both on the feet and on the ground, both in wrestling and getting two submissions with performances of the night. It really is very impressive, but everyone who has trained with Zabit here since he arrived expected this”, he concluded.
Zabit Magomedsharipov, 26 years old, has a professional record of 14 wins and just one loss, in 2013. Since then, there have been 10 consecutive victories, including both in the UFC and the ACB featherweight belt, an important Russian MMA organization.
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