UFC featherweight contender Zabit Magomedsharipov is fed up with waiting any more and is now demanding a title shot against champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Magomesharipov is currently riding a 14-fight win streak and he is a perfect 6-0 in the UFC with back-to-back wins over Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar. The Russian was set to take on Yair Rodriguez in a probably No. 1 contender fight at 145lbs later this month, but Rodriguez was injured in training and the fight was scrapped. The UFC is now looking for a replacement opponent for Magomedsharipov, with Kattar volunteering to step in.
However, it appears Magomedsharipov isn’t interested in a matchup against Kattar or anyone else aside from the champion Volkanovski. Taking to his social media on Thursday, the Russian said that he’s tired of the UFC playing games with him and he is now demanding a title shot against Volkanovski. Check out what he wrote on his Instagram.
Zabit Magomedsharipov wrote. “Hey ufc stop playing games with me! Give me a title shot! How long should I wait until you do what you promised? Before UFC 249 in April, I waited first for Rodriguez, then Ortega, then Zombie. Within a month, you changed 3-4 opponents for me, as a result, you did not organize any of the fights and told me to wait for Max and Volkanovski’s rematch, so I could fight for the title with the winner of their fight later. The rematch is long gone, let’s see how you keep your word! I deserve to fight for the title and I can take that belt.”
It remains to be seen what the UFC will do. The promotion needs a headliner for the August 29 card so it seems likely that Magomedsharipov will fight on it, but it seems unlikely that Volkanovski would be ready to fight again so soon after a five-round war with Max Holloway last month at UFC 251. It will be interesting to see what the UFC does here.
Do you think the UFC should give Zabit Magomedsharipov the next featherweight title shot against Alexander Volkanovski?