"I've never seen anyone do sh** like this" - Aljamain Sterling shares story about his first encounter with Zabit Magomedsharipov, following his announced retirement

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling responded to Zabit Magomedsharipov's retirement by sharing a story of a training session that he had with the Russian fighter.

'Funk Master' recently uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he described his encounter with the now-retired Magomedsharipov. Aljamain Sterling said:

"He did knock me out, and dude, that was not fun. That guy came in there like a Samurai ninja, doing spinning kicks and sh**. I'm like, bro, I've never seen anybody do sh** like this."

Well, that impression of Zabit Magomedsharipov resonated with each member of the MMA community as and when they saw the fighter perform on the canvas. Magomedsharipov's meteoric rise in popularity stemmed from his unique and exciting performances inside the octagon. His style of fighting along with his unorthodox yet vast arsenal quickly made him a fan favourite.

Explaining how the two ended up training together back in 2017, Aljamain Sterling said:

"Mark [Henry] brought Ramazan down for [Chris] Weidman, and he brought him [Magomedsharipov] for me, which I had no idea about. This wasn't planned, I had no idea, or I would've looked him up, see who I'm going in with. I was like, okay, I got my work cut out for me."

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Aljamain Sterling was in awe of how big Zabit Magomedsharipov is in real life

Further detailing his first encounter with Zabit Magomedsharipov, Aljamain Sterling said:

"I went in there and I was like, 'Oh, this guy doesn't look like much.' And then he took his hoodie off. And when he took his hoodie off and I looked over and I go, 'Chris, this guy is big as hell, bro.' It was cool till we were, like boxing. I was actually faster, so I was able to get in a little bit."

Of course, as Aljo mentioned in the very beginning, Magomedsharipov was able to knock the current 135-pound champion out during that session.

Unfortunately, what could have been a highly illustrous career for Zabit Magomedsaripov has now come to a screeching halt. The fighter officially informed the UFC, and even took to Instagram a few hours ago to announce that he will cease to compete as an active athlete.

The announcement came amid various speculations about the fighter's future since his last fight took place way back in 2019. After that, the UFC was unable to get the fighter a fight that fit the schedule and did not involve any discrepancies. Thereafter, Magomedsharipov was forced to hang his gloves due to a permanent new low in his health after his surgery.