Ali Abdelaziz refuses to speak about his client Zabit Magomedsharipov's situation with the UFC 

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz has refused to speak in detail about his client Zabit Magomedsharipov’s current relationship with the UFC.

The CEO and founder of Dominance MMA Management, Abdelaziz, manages one of the top featherweight fighters in the sport of MMA today – Zabit Magomedsharipov. A talented fighter from Dagestan, Russia, Magomedsharipov was removed from the official UFC rankings this week.

During an interview with ESPN MMA, Ali Abdelaziz addressed multiple topics, including one about his most prominent clients, UFC featherweight star Zabit Magomedsharipov. On being asked regarding Magomedsharipov being removed from the rankings, Abdelaziz stated:

“Listen, at the end of the day, this is a conversation, we’re gonna have, I’m gonna have, behind closed doors. It’s not something I wanna talk about in public, you know. And me and Zabit are gonna talk, we and the UFC are gonna talk. And we gotta figure something out. But, you know, it is what it is. It ain’t gonna mean nothing to me.”

After being asked when Zabit Magomedsharipov would fight in the UFC again, Ali Abdelaziz alluded to Zabit Magomedsharipov being disappointed about his fight with Yair Rodriguez being canceled on multiple occasions and not receiving a title shot.

“I think Zabit has showed up four times to fight this Yair Rodriguez. Yair didn’t show up four times. I think he (Zabit Magomedsharipov) thinks he deserves a title shot. The UFC already have a title fight in place. And we’re gonna figure this out, you know."

"Listen, Zabit, he feels very strongly about it. We might never see Zabit again, you know – Because he feels he earned it. But at the end of the day, like I said, this is something we will discuss behind closed doors. Everybody will know about it soon," added Abdelaziz. (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)

Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Yair Rodriguez has been canceled thrice in the past

Zabit Magomedsharipov (left); Yair Rodriguez (right)

The fight between Zabit Magomedsharipov and Yair Rodriguez has fallen apart on three separate occasions. They were initially booked to face one another at UFC 228 (September 8, 2018). However, Rodriguez withdrew from the fight due to injury issues.

Following this, the Magomedsharipov vs. Rodriguez matchup was scheduled to take place at UFC Fight Night 175 (August 29, 2020). The fight didn’t materialize as Rodriguez once again pulled out due to an injury.

The fight was then said to be booked for the third time for UFC 254 (October 24, 2020). In the end, it wasn’t officially announced for the event and the bout didn’t come to fruition once again.