UFC Featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov Retires from MMA at 31

Credit:
Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Elena
Katretskaya/Sherdog.com Credit:
Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com Credit:
Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com

It has been more than two-and-a-half years since rising
featherweight star Zabit
Magomedsharipov last set foot in the UFC’s Octagon. Now he may
never be back.

According to a source close to the situation, Magomedsharipov has
informed the UFC of his decision to retire from mixed martial arts.
That decision has since been confirmed by
MMAFighting.com. Magomedsharipov exits the sport at age 31 with
a career mark of 18-1.

The Ricardo
Almeida Jiu-Jitsu product hasn’t competed since November 2019,
when he earned a unanimous decision triumph against Calvin
Kattar at UFC Fight Night 163 in Moscow. The Dagestani was in
the midst of a 14-bout professional winning streak that also
included wins over the likes of Jeremy
Stephens, Kyle
Bochniak and Sheymon
Moraes in the Las Vegas-based promotion. Prior to that,
Magomedsharipov enjoyed a successful stint in the Absolute
Championship Berkut organization.

After the victory over Kattar, Magomedsharipov was scheduled to
face Yair
Rodriguez in August 2020, but that bout fell through after
Rodriguez pulled out due to injury — the second time a matchup
between the featherweight contenders was scrapped. Magomedsharipov
hinted on
social media in April that he was studying to become a doctor.