The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi this weekend, with UFC 294 headlined by a short-notice title fight between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski — a rematch of their February match-up. Among several newcomers, the highly-touted Sharabutdin Magomedov makes his debut opposite Bruno Silva.
Sharabutdin “Bullet” Magomedov
Standing at six-foot-two
Fighting at 185 lbs (middleweight)
29-years-old
Fighting out of Moscow, Russia
Training out of GOR MMA
A pro record of 11-0
10 KO/TKOs
How Magomedov will fare in the UFC:
Magomedov has been in MMA since 2017 but started off fighting in smaller shows in China. In 2019, he captured a victory over current UFC fighter Blood Diamond in kickboxing. Outside of MMA, he was an Eurasia champion in Burmese boxing, 18-2 in K1, and a Russian muay thai champion.
Nobody fights like this guy in the UFC. Some may have a similar style, but nobody perfects it as he does. Magomedov is one of the most intriguing and exciting prospects that’s signed with the UFC in a while.
There is no mystery to the style of Magomedov; he’s not going to be someone to shoot takedowns, but instead will chip away from all angles on the feet. The best thing Magomedov brings to the table is diversity. He literally throws everything in the kitchen at you and throws in different varieties. Magomedov’s hands, knees, legs, elbows; he’s always implementing these into his game. Fluidity is huge for the Russian, as he just blends everything together beautifully. I would say seeing him fight is like using a fighter in the EA games. But nothing or no one does it as smooth as Magomedov, he has excellent dexterity in his legs. He throws a ton of sidekicks, hook kicks, crescent kicks, ax kicks, and wheel kicks. He can throw it all together as well, such as a hook kick to a roundhouse and a sidekick to a hook kick.
Magomedov is never repetitive, never telegraphed, and never hesitant. He’s always mixing it up using a lot of feints, always quick on his release, and staying volume-heavy Magomedov is strong with both legs and will attack from both sides. He can throw the right head kick to a left head kick so effortlessly with no load up or any telegraph at all.
When fighting Magomedov, the goal is indeed to put him on his back. Easier said than done though, as it’s been a very difficult task for past opponents. On the outside, to start off you’re going to have to deal with the kickboxing. When you’re able to get in close quarters, Magomedov can still get off some explosive strikes.
When they do finally tie up with Magomedov, they find it’s not so easy to get him down. He not only fights wrist and under-hooks well, he’s lethal with his muay thai. Framing off and landing elbows, and the knees especially are fight-ending. Magomedov is in his realm when in the clinch, the way he knees the body then the head, along with the shot placement and his hand positioning is extremely high level.
How he matches up with Silva:
This is the perfect fight for the debut of Magomedov. Silva is a veteran that has good experience and also poses a threat. Silva did go three rounds with Alex Pereira. I do believe since that fight he’s become more fragile. If he’s able to set the pace, he’s dangerous but he’s shown that when he’s pressured he’s vulnerable to being finished. I’d imagine Magomedov will set the pace putting out a lot of volume and Silva will decide to trade with him. Silva is 34 and the damage is starting to add up. I predict Magomedov to showcase his skillset and win by TKO.
