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Removal from the UFC rankings and a lack of motivation are not the only issues concerning UFC featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov. As reported by Russian Journalist Igor Lazorin, Zabit is undergoing a necessary surgery that could determine the course of his life.
The outcome of this surgery will impact both Zabit's fighting future and the prospects of his return to the competition. The nature of the medical issues that led to the condition is unknown at the moment.
Igor Lazorin made the revelation in an Instagram post, and Dutch journalist Marcel Dorff later backed it.
"An important point that I was informed about today," Lazorin said. "Zabit (Magomedsharipov) will soon going to important surgery, after which the situation with his career will be clear."
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Zabit Magomedsharipov (18-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is one of the UFC's most highly touted prospects. The Dagestan native previously occupied the No. 3 spot in the featherweight division but was recently removed from the rankings due to inactivity.
Zabit has not competed in the UFC since his unanimous decision to win over No. 6-ranked Calvin Kattar in November 2019. His bout with another top prospect, Yair Rodriguez (13-2-1NC MMA, 8-1-1NC UFC), has been canceled on multiple occasions over the last year.
Zabit Magomedsharipov is contemplating retirement
Since his emergence in the UFC, Zabit Magomedsharipov has been touted as the future of the featherweight division. However, the prospect of Zabit's rise to the top seems to be fading away.
As reported by Russian sports outlet TASS, sources close to Zabit Magomedsharipov revealed that the 30-year-old fighter is contemplating retirement from professional MMA.
The report cited a lack of motivation and long periods of inactivity as the reasons behind Zabit's inclination towards retirement. However, retirements in MMA have been nothing more than impulsive decisions many times.
Conor McGregor, Khamzat Chimaev, and Khabib Nurmagomedov have all retired from the sport only to come back later and take the MMA world by storm.
Apart from champion Alexander Volkanovski and former champ Max Holloway, none of the top UFC featherweights have been active recently.
Brian Ortega, Zabit Magomedsharipov, and Yair Rodriguez have fought a combined three times over the last 18 months. The winner of the impending title fight between champion Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega is most likely to fight Max Holloway next.
