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UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has reacted to rumors suggesting Zabit Magomedsharipov could retire from mixed martial arts.
The 30-year-old, who holds an 18-1 professional record, was recently removed from the UFC rankings as a direct result of his inactivity. Zabit last fought back at UFC Moscow in November 2019 where he was able to defeat Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision.
Volkanovskia feels for Zabit
The expectation was that he’d go on to contend for the title at some point in the future, with perhaps one or two more wins being needed before he came face to face with the champion.
When current champ Alexander Volkanovski was asked about the situation, he gave the following response:
“I hope not [that Zabit doesn’t retire]. Obviously it’s been a ‘seen the rankings’ thing and then obviously him wanting a title fight and not getting one. Look, I can see why he’s feeling a little bit frustrated but he still needs to see it from the promotion’s point of view as well. He hasn’t fought the top guys, right at the top for a five rounder, so you understand where they’re going. At the same time, all the way through there’s been pull outs, he’s been struggling to get fights and things like that - so you’ve gotta feel for him in that way. Again, he’s a good fighter and I want him to fight someone, I want him to be there so I can take him out. I want to be the GOAT of my division. I wanna fight good fighters and there’s a lot of people that obviously talk highly of him.”
Zabit is said to be tired of fighting with his lack of motivation supposedly being one of the key factors behind his potential decision to retire.
Volkanovski has his hands full right now as he prepares to defend the UFC featherweight title against Brian Ortega. If he gets through that challenge, there’s a very good chance he could go on to fight Zabit Magomedsharipov - but only if the Russian decides that his intriguing MMA career is worth continuing.
