Even the day before, the mentor of the Russian fighter Ricardo Almeida talked about possible rivals Zabit Magomedsharipov and said that he would like to see one of the top 3 lightweight representatives in the opposite corner - Alexander Volkanovsky, Jose Aldo or Brian Ortega. According to the expert, this could be an excellent preparation for the title fight for the athlete.
However, the leadership of the Absolute Fighting Championship ordered differently, identifying the opponents as Zabuta athlete from the top ten ranking. According to ESPN, Magomedsharipov will meet with Kelvin Kaitter, who currently occupies 11th place in the ranking table. The fight will take place at the UFC on ESPN 6 tournament, which will be held on October 18 in the US city of Boston and will be the second most important event of the show. In the main fight of the evening, the debut of ex-middleweight champion Chris Weidman in the light heavyweight category will take place, and Dominic Reyes will be his opponent.
For Magomedsharipov, such a promotion decision can be a real disappointment. One of the longest winning series among the fighters from the top 10 featherweight division is listed in his asset. Zabit won all five of his fights in the UFC and is second only to the aforementioned Volkanovsky (seven consecutive wins), as well as to reigning champion Max Holloway. More recently, the Hawaiian lost to Dustin Porrier, but that fight took place as part of the lightweight. In his native category, he has not been inferior over the past 14 battles.
Proceeding from this, Zabit could be considered one of the main candidates, if not for the title fight, then at least for the fight for the status of the first applicant. In addition to him and Volkanovsky, each of the top 5 ratings already received the right to compete for the belt, but could not cope with Holloway. Earlier, Aldo and Ortega had already suffered a similar fate, and two weeks ago UFC veteran Frankie Edgar was defeated. Thus, it would be reasonable for the organization’s matchmakers to give the Russians the right to meet with Jose or Brian, who had enough time to recover from previous battles. So, the Brazilian last appeared in the octagon in May, and the American in December.
As for Kitter, he also spent five fights under the auspices of the largest MMA promotion on the planet. But, unlike Magomedsharipov, he was unable to complete everything in his favor. In the third fight in the UFC, he lost to Renato Moikano by unanimous refereeing decision and lost the status of one of the rising stars of the division. True, later he was able to rehabilitate himself and get the upper hand twice ahead of schedule.
As a fighter, the American is a pronounced drummer, always tuned for knockout. Of course, this style of warfare is liked not only by fans, but also by the UFC leadership, which contributes to its promotion. At the same time, he neglects wrestling skills, which eloquently reflects statistics. So, for all five fights, he only six times tried to get into the opponent’s legs and only twice succeeded in this.
Thus, one of the possible reasons for the organization of the battle between Magomedsharipov and Kaitter is their entertainment. Both athletes are used to showing a real show in the octagon, which in modern MMA is of great importance. For the sake of a colorful fight, the organizers may well give up a small share of the sports component, but provide the fans with what they want.
In light of this, it should not be ruled out that Zabit can still get his title fight, even bypassing fights with top rivals. It is likely that Volkanovsky will soon have the right to fight Holloway, and Magomedsharipov will automatically become the next in line.
Moreover, he will not be the first fighter to fight for the title after success in a fight with an athlete not from the top five. It is enough to recall Conor McGregor, who for this was enough to cope with Dennis Seaver.
However, there may be other reasons for the UFC decision. Perhaps one of them lies in the not very confident victory of Magomedsharipov in the previous battle. In anticipation of a meeting with Jeremy Stevens, he not only confidently gained the upper hand, but also received various bonuses, which contributed to the development of his career. So, he twice received the award for “performance of the evening”, once for the “fight of the evening”, and his admission in the battle by Brandon Davis was not noted during the tournament itself, but later it was recognized as the “pain of the year”.
The victory over Stevens was not convincing enough, and Magomedsharipov himself, although he won, practically did not demonstrate all his best qualities. So, Zabit was unexpectedly cautious in the rack, and on the ground could not create significant problems for Jeremy. Three times he transferred the American to canvas, but he competently defended himself and quickly rose to his feet.
If the UFC is really not sure of the Russian ability to show vivid battles with strong opponents, then the upcoming fight may be a moment of truth for him. Kitter is very similar to Stevens: possesses a very powerful blow from both hands and constantly suppresses his counterpart. Moreover, he is much faster than Jeremy, which may create additional problems for Magomedsharipov.
To achieve candidate status, Zabit needs to not only defeat Kitter, but to do this ahead of schedule or to demonstrate dominance throughout the fight. In this case, the UFC will have almost no reason to ignore the claims of the Russian or, at least, provide him with one of the three Aldo - Ortega - Edgar.