Zabit Magomedsharipov’s opponent going into UFC 228 wasn’t expected to be Brandon Davis, but it still made for a great fight. One that ended with a rarely seen submission — for the second time in a night!
Zabit Magomedsharipov, going into UFC 228, was 3-0 in the UFC and 15-1 as a professional fighter. With extremely high expectations going into the UFC, he had not let anyone down. ‘ZaBeast’ originally had a fight scheduled against fellow prospect Yair Rodriguez going into the event, however two weeks prior to the show Yair dropped. Instead, former Contender Series alum Brandon Davis stepped in. Many saw this fight as a showcase for Zabit, and that’s exactly what it was.
Round one featured both fighters finding some success. Davis pushed the pace on Zabit but got caught a number of times coming in on him, especially with a couple of left hooks. The last minute of the round featured Zabit slamming Davis and taking the back more than once. However he ended it the only way he could, with a spin kick. Davis mind you did have some success with leg kicks. At the very least, he survived the round.
That wasn’t the case in the next frame. Zabit continued where he left off in the second round with his grappling. Getting Davis to the ground repeatedly, he looked for the rear naked choke, however he switched it to straight knee bar from the back! Incredibly, he got it! The second time on the night at a knee bar had been used from the back for a win (Aljamain Sterling hit it first). That, after the move had only been used once before in UFC history. In case you weren’t aware, Zabit Magomedsharipov is legit ladies and gentlemen.
THERE'S THE TAP!@Zabit_MMA notches his fourth Octagon victory! #UFC228 pic.twitter.com/iSuINpVGJV
— UFC (@ufc) September 9, 2018
One has to wonder where Zabit goes from here. The obvious option would be to re-book the fight with Rodriguez, of course. But in all honesty, Magomedsharipov is a problem for anyone in the 145lb division.
Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Brandon Davis by submission (knee bar), Round 2, 2:46
