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As the 'ZaBeast' Zabit Magomedsharipov made his way to the Octagon for his fight against Calvin Kattar, the crowd in attendance at the CSKA Arena in Moscow chanted Magomedsharipov's name passionately, setting up a perfect atmosphere for the electrifying main event clash that was about to follow.
This was supposed to be 'The Boston Finisher's ultimate underdog story and he left no stone unturned trying to ensure the same, but fell just short in the end, being edged by the Dagestani fighter via unanimous decision after three rounds of a thoroughly entertaining fight.
The fight as it happened...
The fight started off with the pair faking hay-makers. Magomedsharipov landed a nasty body kick which Kattar countered with a right. Magomedsharipov went to work with the jab while Kattar landed a low kick, following it up with a nice 1-2. Magomedsharipov teed off on Kattar with some heavy body shots. Kattar rocked the Russian with an overhand. Magomedsharipov brought the round to a close with some good body shots.
Take a look at this vicious spinning kick by Magomedsharipov.
The Russian ruled the early exchanges in the second round, landing some good jabs and following it up with a kick to the body. Halfway through the round, Magomedsharipov launched a takedown attempt, but could not seal it.
Kattar retorted with jabs but Magomedsharipov regained the upper hand with a nasty left hook. Kattar managed to land two uppercuts, rocking his Russian rival for a short while before Magomedsharipov went for a head kick, bringing the curtains down on the second round.
The finale
In the final round, the already fast and furious encounter turned into an all out war. As desperation and fatigue crept in, both fighters left it all inside the Octagon in the deciding round of this closely contested bout. Magomedsharipov used a lot of feints in the third, but barely managed to connect.
The Boston Finisher cracked his opponent's ribs with a couple of hard left hooks and the Russian returned the favor with a counter shot. An uppercut by Kattar evidently rocked Magomedsharipov as the former moved in for the kill with a flying knee which failed to land as Magomedsharipov took him to the ground. Kattar pulled guard and landed punches and elbows to the head of the Dagestani fighter as the round came to a close.
The judges at cage side eventually scored the fight in favor of Magomedsharipov but Kattar put up a valiant effort. Could a title shot be in the fray for the charismatic Russian fighter?
