We've had a string of MMA retirements over the last few weeks and given the way the MMA news cycle works, it isn't always easy to give those fighters the recognition that they deserve. While it is a bit removed from the actual announcement, we're finally catching up on the retirement of UFC featherweight contender Zabit Magomedsharipov. This is truly one of the most interesting retirement stories that we've seen in MMA at least in a long time. All retirements are sad to an extent as we come to know these athletes over the years and not being able to see them compete anymore and knowing they will have to find something to fill the void left in their lives is something that everyone has to deal with to some degree. The Zabit retirement feels a bit more sad since we never got to see him fully realize his potential as he has walked away much younger and much earlier in his career than we typically see in this sport. MMA is a sport that we see far more athletes retire several fights too late instead of too early, but Zabit is one of the few where it feels like he still had a lot more left to give. Zabit took to his instagram to officially announce his retirement from the sport after two and a half years away. Zabit referenced fights falling apart as well as issues with his health as reasons for this decision, but did say that he isn't fully leaving the sport. While he may not be fighting anymore, he seemed to imply that he will continue to train and help out his teammates at the gym, which at least made me feel good about the situation. I'm glad that Zabit isn't bitter towards the sport and that he can still find joy in it despite no longer competing professionally. As we do with these retirement posts, we're just going to take a look back at Zabit's career and talk about some of his best moments and what we should take away from his time in the sport.
Zabit started competing professionally in 2012, which makes his journey all the more amazing to me. All of what he did happened in only a 7 year window, which is just a crazy timeline. He suffered his first and only loss in his 5th career fight when he was submitted via an armbar. Zabit would go on to win 8 fights in a row, 7 of them inside the distance, to earn his UFC contract. His UFC debut would come in 2017 against Mike Santiago in a fight that he would win by rear naked choke late in the second round. A win over Sheymon Moraes would set up his first PPV appearance, which was a win against Kyle Bochniak. Another PPV main card win over Brandon Davis really began the push to another level for Zabit as he would get an opportunity against Jeremy Stephens. Zabit would defeat Stephens by decision and parlay that into his first and only main event, which would be the last fight of his career, against Calvin Kattar. Zabit would also win that fight by decision and was sitting right on the cusp of a title shot, but we would never get to see how that played out. He was scheduled to fight Yair Rodriguez in August of 2020, but after Rodriguez pulled out of the fight, we never really heard anything else about it. Rodriguez would eventually fight Max Holloway over a year after the Zabit fight was scheduled to have taken place. We had been hearing the rumors that Zabit wasn't going to fight again for some time, but because we hadn't heard from him personally, there was some hope that he would eventually be able to work his way back. Despite only having 7 total years as a pro and 6 fights in the UFC, Zabit was able to really capture the imaginations of MMA fans. His style was really all his own. He is and was one of the most unique fighters in the sport and still would be if he were active. In a sport that is starting to become more and more homogenous stylistically, Zabit stood out in a way that is sort of hard to articulate. I think what made him so special is that he was athletically capable of doing wild and crazy things, yet he somehow maintained a sort of "every man" persona. He didn't even speak all that much English, which is usually a barrier to having a huge fan base in the US, but Zabit somehow bypassed that as well. Physically, Zabit looked like just a normal guy. He seemed like he really couldn't be bothered by anything and just went about his life as he wanted. His hair was kind of messed up all the time and he was often compared to Abraham Lincoln. However, when he entered the cage, all of that "average Joe" stuff went out the window and he was one of the most athletic fighters in all of MMA, regardless of weight class. Zabit was dynamic no matter where the fight was taking place. His speed and power for his size was incredible and he combined that with a wild and creative striking style. He was reckless at times, but it worked for him way more often than it didn't. Pair that with an incredibly active style of grappling where he was constantly searching for, and often securing, submissions and he was must see TV every single time he was on the schedule. His all out style had led to some concerns about his gas tank and as he got those higher level fights where he wasn't finishing his opponents, he was slowing down in the last round, but I think that is something that he could have refined. At the time of his last fight, Zabit was only 7 years into his professional career and 28 years old, so he was realistically only entering the prime of his career. He was inside the top 5 of the featherweight division already and was only getting better. It is impossible to say how exactly Zabit's career would have gone, but it seems incredibly likely that he would have at least challenged for a title at some point. We don't know what could have been, but we can still appreciate what we got to see.
As for my favorite Zabit moment, I think I have to go with the boring one. Zabit's submission of the year win over Brandon Davis at UFC 228 was an incredible moment and will probably go down as the signature win of his career. That was also my birthday weekend, so I remember the card pretty well. I feel like the September PPV's have always been a little on the weird side, but that is a moment I remember pretty well. As for that submission, obviously we don't see a Suloev stretch very often, which made it crazy in itself, but the fact that it was Zabit that did it sort of solidified his reputation as a wild fighter who was capable of anything at any moment. That win sort of put Zabit on the path towards the top of the division as well, making it a hug moment in his overall development and progression as a fighter. Also, that was the same exact card where Aljamain Sterling got the Suloev stretch against Cody Stamann and I'm 99% sure that I had never even heard of that submission before that night. That was a great night overall and probably the moment that I will think of first whenever Zabit's name is mentioned.
This is a retirement where I have so many mixed emotions. I'm not really sure how I feel or how I am supposed to feel. The first thing that comes to mind is a sense of sadness because Zabit is still only 31 years old and would have plenty of left to give if he had decided to continue his career. It is sad that these external circumstances have left him in a place where he does feel like he wants to return or he doesn't feel like he can return the way he wants to. However, after a few minutes, I do get a sense of being content and happy for Zabit because ultimately, he was in a position to make the decision that he wanted to make. Zabit had lived a stable enough life where he could make a career choice based only on what he actually wants and not based on the money. Seeing anyone come through this sport and being able to leave on their own timeline is a win. So many careers in this sport end very, very ugly and Zabit is one of the lucky ones in that sense. He was able to leave on his own accord and do what was best for himself and his health. I do wonder exactly what led Zabit to this decision though. All he said was that it was a combination of health and circumstances surrounding fights falling apart. Hopefully the health situation wasn't too bad. He posted it with a picture of him in the gym, so he is at least healthy enough to continue training, which is a good thing. He could have suffered an injury where he needs surgery or maybe he ended up with COVID and had a bad case. We may never know, but it at least sounds like Zabit is doing well now, which is all that matters. Including the part about fights falling apart makes me wonder if Zabit got fed up with the whole circus part of being a UFC fighter. I certainly wouldn't blame him as that part would wear me out too, but if that is what really brought his career to an end, it would be unfortunate from a selfish perspective. If it's nothing too serious, I wonder if we ever get rumors of a Zabit return. He's already been gone for so long that it doesn't seem likely, but crazier things have happened. I mean, we did get a Nick Diaz return, so anything is possible at this point.
At the end of the day, Zabit seems to be happy with where his life is at and that is all we can really ask for. If he never returns, then I will just say thanks for all of the memories and great fights. Zabit's performances brought so much joy to all of our lives and I think we all wish him the best. He's still a young man with so much life in front of him and I'm glad he had the wisdom and confidence to make a decision for his long term. If walking away from this sport at this time was best for him, then I think that is what we all want. I think we all wish Zabit the best of luck with whatever he has planned and wants to do with the rest of his life. Whenever the UFC starts traveling more consistently again and when they do a show in Russia, I hope we get to see Zabit in the crowd so that he can get a proper ovation from the fans. I hope he still involves himself in the sport in some way and that we get to hear from him on social media often. Congratulations to Zabit Magomedsharipov on a great career.
What are your guys thoughts on this situation? Leave your favorite Zabit fight or moment in the comments. Thanks for reading and have a good one.
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