Exciting Newcomer Zabit Magomedsharipov Gets Quick Turnaround for UFC Shanghai

Viewers who tuned in to UFC Rotterdam at the beginning of last month, were treated to a violent surprise. Fresh-on-the-roster featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov put on a performance in his UFC debut that rivals anyone we’ve seen in recent memory. He was leaping off cages, putting together video game combos, but best off all, he finished his opponent with a choke. It wasn’t just the fans who liked what they saw, evidently the UFC brass is high on the prospect as well. He’ll make his return to UFC action on November 25th.

https://twitter.com/DenisGeykoRT/status/915307249316384773

“I fight six fights in ACB [Absolute Championship Berkut]. All fights I finished in the first round. I’m ready to fight anybody in the UFC. For my pro fights, 10 have been finished in the first round. I’m ready. I’m training everyday so I think I’m ready. My coach Mark Henry says he thinks I’m ready for a big fight. He sees how I’m training everyday. I’m feeling like I’m ready. I have a good team and I think I’m ready. I don’t want to talk. I want to fight. It’s not my style but I’m ready to fight anybody in the UFC. This is a reason why I move from ACB because I want to fight in the UFC. I’m ready to fight anybody in my division at 145 [pounds].” — Zabit Magomedsharipov  speaking to FOX Sports back in April.

His opponent is yet to be announced, but Zabit Magomedsharipov did call out Artem Lobov. Conor McGregor’s notorious training partner likes the fight, but he’s fighting Andre Fili at UFC Gdansk on October 21st. That isn’t to say Lobov would stray from a month turnaround, but it is unlikely. A return fight for Doo Ho Choi would be a wild and exciting match-up for Dragonball Zabit, but the last we heard, he was looking for a ranked opponent and called out Jose Aldo. We’ll have to wait and see who Magomedsharipov will fight, but no matter who it is, expect fireworks.

Here’s how the current UFC Shanghai card looks: 

• Anderson Silva vs. Kelvin Gastelum
• Gina Mazany vs. Yanan Wu
• Kailin Curran vs. Xioanan Yan

This cat is awesome. #UFCRotterdam pic.twitter.com/R8BPGyzxwl

— Jonnyboy (@Jonnyboy_6969) September 2, 2017

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/3/2017.