Zabit Magomedsharipov spoke out for the first time about his retirement in a press conference.
He went into detail about why he decided to give up his mixed martial arts career. A reporter asked Zabit why did he end his career, to which he replied,
“Well, there are many reasons. First of all, there were many fight refusals from potential opponents, I wasn’t able to get a fight for two years. Then the injuries started happening. Then I was sick for a long time. I almost didn’t recover. There are many reasons for my retirement.”
Zabit Magomedsharipov was a spectacular athlete competing in the featherweight division. The 31-year-old has been inactive since 2019 with only rumors going around on as to what exactly happened to him.
The most common rumor about his inactivity was that it was caused by health problems. Fans speculated that Zabit suffers from an esophageal ailment that made his training difficult. Some said he had an immune system issue. There were even rumors saying Zabit has fully dedicated himself to spirituality or that he’s interested to go into the medical field.
This turned out to be a red herring – Magomedsharipov was simply shouting out a medical app in Russian.
While Magomedsharipov was an interesting prospect many questioned his physical readiness to perform in 5 round events due to issues with cardio which were linked to his diaphragm.
He further stated,
“The biggest reason was the inability to get fights booked. UFC didn’t get me a title fight. UFC promised one thing but did another. Both the UFC and potential opponents made promises that they did not keep. So, mostly that’s why I decided to step away.”
Zabit stepped away with a record of consisting of 18 wins and 1 loss all while he was on a 6 win streak. He has been one of the most respected competitors in the UFC.
Zabit Magomedsharipov announced his retirement in June via a social media post.
According to some reports, Zabit will help his younger brother Khasan become an MMA star. Khasan has recently signed a contract with Bellator and has the potential of a breakout MMA Star.