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Zabit Magomedsharipov vs Yair Rodriguez has been a fight that has been in the works for a long time now but has been postponed previously due to various reasons. However, UFC is finally making the fight happen and it could be the most important one in the Featherweight division after July 12th.
Zabit Magomedsharipov's manager Rizvan Magomedov told Russian news outlet Tass (via Sherdog) that the fight is being targeted for August 15th. Magomedov said that UFC booking Alexander Volkanovski vs Max Holloway resulted in this fight and that it's expected to be a number one contender's bout:
Zabit Magomedsharipov and Yair Rodriguez bout to be a number one contender's bout
“They are working on this fight,” Magomedov said. “They proposed Rodriguez to us because [Max] Holloway and [Alexander] Volkanovski will have a second fight. Therefore, we will fight with Yair. It will be a contender fight: Both fighters are on a good winning streak; the winner will fight for the title.”
Interestingly, he believes this is a title eliminator. It could be, since Zabit Magomedsharipov has won all six of his fights in the UFC, last beating Calvin Kattar. Zabit Magomedsharipov is now #3 in the Featherweight rankings while his opponent Yair Rodriguez is ranked #5. The Mexican star last defeated Jeremy Stephens in a rematch after their first fight ended in a controversial no-contest after just 15 seconds.
Another fight that mustn't be ignored is the planned bout between 'The Korean Zombie' Chan Sung Jung and Brian Ortega. The two had a heated confrontation at UFC 248 when Brian 'T-City' Ortega got into a scuffle with rapper Jay Park.
While the Korean Zombie accepted his apology, he stated that he still wants to get into the Octagon with Ortega. Dana White confirmed that the fight is in the works, but felt that this is the fight that would determine the next Featherweight title contender (via Essentially Sports):
There’s no way this fight is boring. And the guy that comes out of that fight would be next in line for a title shot.”
Regardless of who gets the next title shot, the Featherweight division is in an exciting place. The advantage that the winner of Zabit Magomedsharipov vs Yair Rodriguez will have is the fact that they're guaranteed to be a fresh match-up for the winner of Volkanovski vs Holloway on Fight Island.
If Korean Zombie beats Brian Ortega, he could be given the title shot due to him being a more 'exciting' fighter to watch. Ortega will have to wait if Holloway beats Volkanovski. One man who's going to be happy about all this is the Champion Alexander Volkanovski, who said after winning the title that Korean Zombie, Zabit Magomedsharipov, and the others needed one more win to legitimize their claim for a title shot.
