Zabit Magomedsharipov, once one of the most exciting rising stars in the UFC featherweight division, has opened up about the reasons behind his early retirement. The 35-year-old Russian fighter, who boasts an undefeated 6-0 record in the UFC and an overall 18-1 mark, last stepped into the Octagon in November 2019, where he delivered a Fight of the Night performance against Calvin Kattar. Now, in a revealing interview with AC BJJ, Magomedsharipov has shed light on the frustrations that led him to hang up his gloves in 2022.

At the heart of his decision were repeated failed attempts to book a highly anticipated showdown with Yair Rodriguez. Magomedsharipov described a grueling cycle of preparation and disappointment. "There were a lot of reasons – so many reasons," he explained. "UFC just couldn't make the fight happen. I wanted to fight, but like three or four times, they'd postpone fights and we couldn't make a deal. All these times, I was making weight, going through camps, flying out to America. By the time you get there, you've already been through so much – weight cut, training camp and everything. Then you arrive, and two or three weeks before the fight, they tell you, 'That's it, he's injured,' and they postpone again. I'd go back home and start getting ready all over again. Imagine that about five times. I got tired of it. How much can you take?"

The situation was compounded by what Magomedsharipov claims were broken promises from the UFC. "We had some agreements with them: If he pulls out of the fight a third time, they'd automatically give me the title fight. That's what we talked about. And the third time, he found excuses. He came up with a lot of reasons. Then they started offering me somebody else, first Chan Sung Jung, then some other guy. But really at that time, it was just me and Rodriguez. The two of us were contenders, and they just didn't want to make me a champion."

Magomedsharipov also hinted at a broader political dynamic within the organization. "I know why, too. At that time, we already had a lot of champions from Russia. Khabib was the champion then and Petr Yan, and because of that, it wasn't beneficial for them that a third champion would be from Russia."

Now, Magomedsharipov has signed with the Russian grappling league ACBJJ, a spinoff of the promotion ACA, signaling a new chapter in his combat sports journey. His manager, Ali Abdelaziz, echoed similar sentiments in a previous interview with MMA Junkie last July, pointing to the same frustrations over failed bookings. For fans, Magomedsharipov remains one of MMA's biggest "what ifs," a fighter whose talent and potential were never fully realized on the biggest stage.