The next opponent of the Russian mixed martial arts fighter Zabit Magomedsharipov became known. According to his manager, Rizvan Magomedov, the third number of featherweight will face off against the Mexican Yair Rodriguez. The fight will take place in August, but the exact date of the tournament is still unknown.
“There is such a fight in development. They suggested Rodriguez, as Holloway and Volkanovsky will have a rematch. Therefore, we will fight with Yair. A priori, it will be a challenging match, both fighters in a good winning streak, the winner will fight for the title, ”TASS Magomedova quotes.
The battle between Magomedsharipov and Rodriguez has long been in the plans of match makers. The athletes even had a duel at UFC 228 in 2018, but the Mexican was injured and was forced to withdraw. Brandon Davis, who was much inferior in class, took his place. He became easy prey for Zabita. The Russian man very effectively dealt with the American using a combat sambo technique called stretching the back of the thigh, which was later recognized as the “Pain of the Year”.
It is noteworthy that it was Rodriguez who was recognized as the author of the best knockout of 2018. In November, he still returned to the cage and won the brightest victory in his career at the moment. For five rounds, he was inferior to the Korean Cheng Song Jung, but a second before the gong sent him to a deep knockout with a phenomenal elbow strike.
Subsequently, there were rumors that the UFC again intends to organize a duel between one of the most prominent representatives of the division, but there was no confirmation. Nevertheless, the athletes continued to move towards each other. Both got the better of Jeremy Stevens, and in a rather similar manner. But if Yair had to twice share the octagon with the American, since the first meeting was interrupted due to damage to the opponent’s eyes, then Zabit still managed to get the better of Calvin Catter. However, the performance of the Russian turned out to be not confident enough to immediately declare claims to the title.
On the eve of 2020, both athletes were in almost identical position, which gave their battle a certain meaning. Both were among the five strongest in their weight category and, in the case of one or two triumphs, could count on a champion fight. In addition, their confrontation promised to become one of the brightest in 2020. Magomedsharipov and Rodriguez are bright and unorthodox drummers who competently combine techniques from many types of martial arts. Both work perfectly with both hands and feet, are able to connect elbows and knees and are prone to performing spectacular tricks.
This is especially important given the fact that Magomedsharipov is actively seeking the status of the first applicant for the title. The last two fights with his participation were not the most impressive, which affected his prospects. The promotion has always preferred athletes who can effectively deal with opponents, which only emphasize the success stories of Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya and Justin Gatji. Often, furious knockouts and awards for the “Fight of the evening” approach the status of the applicant much faster than dominating the stalls throughout the battle and a long series of victories.
Zabit has already trained the championship leadership, which is an incredibly spectacular fighter, so his inability to demonstrate all the facets of his talent in recent battles could upset UFC bosses. But the duel with Rodriguez can be called an ideal chance to regain the title of one of the brightest athletes. The Mexican was never afraid to enter into fierce exchanges and act second number, which is in the hands of the Russian.
But if you don’t have to worry about the passions in the cell, the format of the fight remains a big question. At the moment, the management of the Absolute Fighting Championship has announced only two tournaments in August. The Fight Nights series show will be held on the first in Las Vegas, and UFC 252 is scheduled for the 15th. The number one event will be crowned by the third fight between heavyweight king Stipe Miocic and the legendary Daniel Cormier. It is possible that in the near future the calendar will be replenished, but there is no certainty about this yet.
At first glance, it would be much more profitable for Magomedsharipov to arrange the next duel at a more prestigious and status tournament in the PPV series (pay-per-view) But in this case, the fight between the Russian and the Mexican will not be guaranteed to be the main one and will take place in the format of three rounds. But if Zabit seriously intends to claim a belt in the future, he needs to practice long, 25-minute battles.
The reason is that in the last two fights Zabit revealed serious problems with endurance. By the third round, he noticeably slowed down, as a result of which each time he lost the ending. The final five minutes were taken by both Stevens and Katter, and the latter was marked by a number of hits, which could well lead to serious consequences.
But if the Americans could not take advantage of Magomedsharipov’s weakness, then Max Holloway or Alexander Volkanovsky will probably do it. The Hawaiian was always famous for his incredible level of cardio training, which allowed him to add during the battle, and the Australian in December showed that he was not inferior to him in this aspect.
Thus, in August, the Russian will arrange either an early victory over the Mexican, or a confident performance for all 25 minutes. In the first case, Magomedsharipov will again draw the attention of the organization’s bosses, and in the second, he will prove that he will go the entire distance in a champion duel without any problems. One way or another, success must guarantee him a meeting with the owner of the belt, which will be determined already on July 11.
In this case, Zabit may become the third Russian in history to have earned the right to compete for the belt in the Absolute Fighting Championship. Earlier, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Peter Yan sought this. The latter will face off against Jose Aldo at UFC 251 and will try to become the second Russian champion of the largest MMA promotion.
Magomedsharipov and Yan for a long time simultaneously moved to the titles in the featherweight and lightest divisions, but many believed that it was Zabit who would be the first to get a chance to ascend to the category throne. However, Peter was much luckier. In the decisive duels, he looked much more confident than his compatriot, in addition, Henry Sehudo decided to end his career. The Russian was named a contender, avoiding a meeting with Marlon Moraes.
As for Magomedsharipov, despite the confidence of his manager, there is a scenario, in which the UFC may not provide him with the opportunity to fight for the belt. If Holloway will prevail over Volkanovsky in the rematch, but the fight will be extremely equal, Dana White and the company may well think about holding a trilogy. In this case, the Russian faces a duel either with the aforementioned Jung, or with Brian Ortega.