Could Zabit Magomedsharipov have beaten Alexander Volkanovski at featherweight? MMA Reddit debates

MMA fans on Reddit recently speculated on how a fight between current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and former 145-pound contender Zabit Magomedsharipov would have transpired.

Magomedsharipov's career has been one of the most renowned what-if stories in MMA. Having started training at the tender age of 10, Zabit Magomedsharipov decided to retire from the sport at the age of 31 and devote his life to helping people in need.

A once-promising featherweight contender, many people still think that the Russian had a shot at becoming a champion despite the fact that he hasn't competed professionally since November 2019.

Meanwhile, Alexander Volkanovski has captured the featherweight throne and has already defended it four times. The Australian has looked dominant in the weight class and has even managed to give lightweight champion Islam Makhachev his biggest test to date at UFC 284.

With that, fans started speculating on the hypothetical fight between Volkanovski and Magomedsharipov. Several fans claimed that 'ZaBeast' would have had a hard time keeping up with Volkanovsk's pace and cardio:

"His cardio wouldn't have lasted in a 5-rounder."

"Volk has Cardio for days, even if Zabit fixed his health issues I think Volk out pressures him over 5 rounds."

"Volk would terrroize Zabil, lol."

Another fan claimed that Zabit Magomedsharpiov vs. Yair Rodriguez would have been a matchup that would have excited fight fans:

"I don't think so, but him vs Yair would've been fireworks. Saying there would be lots of spinning sh*t would be an understatement. Imagine that headlining a 5 round fight night."

Check out some of the reactions below:

Fans react to potential clash between Magomedsharipov and Volkanovski

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Alexander Volkanovski was disappointed when Zabit Magomedsharipov announced his retirement

Alexander Volkanovski's primary objective since making his UFC debut has been to compete against the best contenders.

Zabit Magomedsharipov's meteoric rise in 2017 indicated that he possessed tremendous potential as a future UFC champion. The Russian reached the third spot in the featherweight rankings before announcing his retirement.

During an interview with Michael Bisping, Volkanovski expressed his disappointment at Magomedsharipov's retirement:

"I was looking forward to that fight eventually happening. I want big fights... I thought he was gonna be there, I thought he was one fight away from fighting for a title. I thought it would be a big fight. So I was disappointed when I heard he went away."

Watch the interview below: