Zabit Magomedsharipov returns to the win column after seven years away from competition. Saturday night in Istanbul, he beat active UFC top-10 featherweight Youssef Zalal by unanimous decision at ACBJJ 22. Zabit finished his MMA career 18-1, went undefeated across six UFC fights, climbed to third in the featherweight rankings, and never received a title shot. The win over Zalal is his first step back.
Zabit Magomedsharipov’s UFC Career: Six Wins, No Title Shot
From 2016 to 2019, Zabit Magomedsharipov was one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC, going 6-0 inside the organization with back-to-back wins over Calvin Kattar and Jeremy Stephens. His combination of spinning kicks, flying knees, and scrambles gave the featherweight division nothing familiar to prepare for. He entered 2020 ranked third in the world at 145 pounds, next in line for a title shot that never materialized.
The Yair Rodriguez situation is what unraveled everything. The UFC scheduled that fight three separate times, and Rodriguez pulled out of each one. By the third cancellation, Zabit says the UFC had promised him an automatic title shot if it happened again. When Rodriguez pulled out for the third time, that promise went with him. “They just didn’t want to make me a champion,” Zabit said. “At that time, we already had a lot of champions from Russia. Because of that, it wasn’t beneficial for them that a third champion would be from Russia.”
He retired in 2022, initially citing health issues before later saying the UFC’s broken promises were the real reason he walked away. “They promised one thing, did another.” The organization reportedly reached out three or four times after that to bring him back. He turned those conversations down every time.
Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Youssef Zalal at ACBJJ 22: What Happened
It was a close and competitive grappling match that was ultimately decided by the judges after 10 minutes. Zalal held his hand in the air, expecting to be declared the winner of their back-and-forth bout. However, Magomedsharipov picked up the victory by a unanimous decision from all three judges.
“I’m very happy to be back,” Zabit said during his post-fight speech. “Maybe all I need is to wait eight years more and make another comeback. We’ll see. I’m very happy I was able to secure a victory against such a strong opponent.”
Zabit’s return at ACBJJ 22 was not set up as a soft comeback against a low-ranked opponent. Zalal is an active top-10 UFC featherweight with legitimate wins on his record, and he entered Istanbul as a real test for someone returning after a seven-year absence. According to all three judges’ scorecards, Zabit won unanimously. Full event preview: ACBJJ 22 Preview.
The booking had its own complications before the match even happened. Zabit was originally scheduled to face Raul Rosas Jr. before that fell through, and it took months of rescheduling to land on the Zalal matchup in Istanbul. None of the pre-event turbulence showed once the match started. He controlled the grappling throughout and left with a clean sweep of the scorecards.
Will Zabit Magomedsharipov Return to the UFC?
At 31, Zabit is not in a position to take the long road back through the rankings. He does not need to. A win over the right opponent puts him immediately back in the featherweight title conversation, and Alexander Volkanovski is the current featherweight champion holding a belt Zabit arguably should have competed for years ago.
The UFC has come calling multiple times since his retirement. He has not accepted any of those conversations yet. Saturday in Istanbul may have changed the math. He looked like a top-level grappler against a ranked UFC opponent, after seven years away from competition. If the UFC and Zabit can agree on terms that both sides actually keep, there is a real fight to be made here.
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