Athletes
Prospect To Watch | Shara Magomedov
Rising Middleweight Contender Shara Magomedov Aims For His Fourth Straight Win Inside The Octagon At UFC 308: Topuria vs Holloway
While The Republic of Dagestan is known for elite wrestlers who have dominated global competition, Shara Magomedov brings his own unique approach.
The success of fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Islam Makhachev has put the spotlight on Dagestani wrestling, but certain athletes like Magomedov have proven to have a high-level striking ability. And that doesn’t mean the rest can’t strike; it’s just that “Shara Bullet” is just exceptional.
Prior to joining the UFC in 2023, Magomedov accumulated a professional MMA record of 11-0 across multiple organizations. He quickly won three straight to begin his UFC career and is now 14-0 with 11 coming by KO.
Order UFC 308: Topuria vs Holloway
Soccer was the first sport Magomedov ever played, but he ventured into martial arts shortly after. Outside of MMA, he holds a record of 18-2 as a K-1 kickboxer, became a Eurasia champion in Burmese boxing, and was a Russian Muay Thai champion.
Magomedov brings an extremely diverse striking attack, with kicks from all angles and damaging strikes. There’s a lot of movement and activity to his style, making him hard to predict. He looks to always deliver brutal strikes, clearly has a high Fight IQ, and on the ground, he has shown a rare ability to attack with significant strikes from his back.
Last October at UFC 294, he made his UFC debut against Bruno Silva. He started off fast, targeting Silva with heavy kicks, proving to be an exciting addition to the middleweight division. As the contest went on, Silva brought the fight to the ground, but it was Magomedov doing more damage from his back.
The fight went the full 15 minutes, and all three judges were in agreement, with Magomedov earning the unanimous decision victory.
His second outing in the UFC was last June against Antonio Trocoli, who ended up being a late replacement. Magomedov showcased his wide arsenal of weapons immediately from mostly long range, en route to a third-round finish. He showed improved takedown defense from his debut and the win put him at 13 in a row.
Most recently, Magomedov took on Michal Oleksiejczuk in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Nurmagomedov on August 3. The 30-year-old controlled the fight, once again flashing kicks, punches, and elbows wherever he could land them. He out landed Oleksiejczuk each round on the way to another unanimous decision victory.
FULL FIGHTS: Holloway vs Gaethje | Topuria vs Volkanovski | Whittaker vs Aliskerov | Chimaev vs Usman
This weekend at UFC 308, Magomedov faces Armen Petrosyan in what will be his fourth fight in his 12 months on the roster. Petrosyan is an elite striker himself, having won a gold medal at the Russian Muay Thai Cup in 2017, and in the Octagon, he’s only lost to top-tier grapplers.
Between both athletes’ fun styles, we’re lined up for an entertaining main card opener. It’s certainly a step up in competition for Magomedov, and if he’s able to get it done, “Bullet” will be approaching the rankings soon.
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