Zabit Magomedsharipov on cardio concerns: ‘I wouldn’t say that I’ve got the best endurance’

Zabit Magomedsharipov knows he doesn’t have the best cardio out there.

Magomedsharipov was hounded on his cardio after he appeared to fade in the middle of the second round against Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar, which are his past two fights. Yet, the Russian knows he doesn’t have the best endurance but says he still can go five rounds.

“I wouldn’t say that I’ve got the best endurance. I have no problems going five rounds during training. Sometimes my weight cut doesn’t go as planned. I can get sick,” Zabit Magomedsharipov said to the Russian media. “I use up a lot of energy, when you kick it takes a lot of you. If it’s just boxing, I can easily go five rounds. When you do the same thing all the time, it doesn’t take much energy.”

For Magomedsharipov, it was frustrating having fans come up and tell him he needs to work on his endurance. Now, however, he doesn’t pay any attention to it as he knows he’s working on it with his coaches.

“At first it was annoying. Now, I don’t pay attention to it. Every other person I meet wants to talk about endurance. Everything’s okay, but it definitely gets tiring,” he said. “It must be contagious, every other person tells you the same thing. I have trainers, after all, they probably know what I’m missing. I know myself.”

Zabit Magomedsharipov is currently ranked third in the featherweight division. He’s a very impressive 18-1 as a pro including being 6-0 inside the Octagon and riding a 14-fight winning streak.

The Russian has said he will be returning to the Octagon on April 18 at UFC 249 where the expected opponent is Brian Ortega, although nothing is confirmed. The hope for Zabit Magomedsharipov is to show improved cardio and get his hand raised to earn a title shot.

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This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/26/2020.