Ali Abdelaziz Discusses What Happened

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz has spoken candidly about what really went down with the retirement of Zabit Magomedsharipov.

As we know, Zabit Magomedsharipov was once considered to be the next big thing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was turning back contenders for fun at featherweight and it felt like he was destined to, at the very least, fight for the world title.

Unfortunately, after a long spell of inactivity, Zabit Magomedsharipov officially retired from mixed martial arts. It certainly felt like it had been coming, but nobody really knew what the reason actually was for his decision.

In a recent interview, Ali Abdelaziz spoke about why Zabit Magomedsharipov made that move.

Ali Abdelaziz discusses Zabit Magomedsharipov

“No, he’s not coming back,” Abdelaziz said of Magomedsharipov on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast. “Honestly, he got booked like three or four times with Yair Rodriguez. Yair Rodriguez kept pulling out on him, and he just lost love. I’m not going to blame anyone from the UFC. I could have, but I am not going to do it.

“I think it was a little bit of the UFC’s fault, and also maybe a little bit of my fault. I should never have made them book him again with Yair Rodriguez. This guy pulled out three, four times, right? In a way, I think Zabit fell off. He has a lot of businesses, married, and kids. He said, ‘I don’t need to do this.’”

“I’ll tell you something: Zabit has a brother (Khasan) who I think is much better than Zabit,” Abdelaziz said. “He fights in PFL. He’s 24 years old. He’s the same style as Zabit with a way better gas tank, with way better wrestling and grappling, and his striking, even better. I believe he can come to the UFC today and he’s top five.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie