“Be careful what you wish for.” Top contender agreed to fight Shara Bullet

“Be careful what you wish for.” Top contender agreed to fight Shara Bullet

November 28, 2023, 20:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

The Russian fighter has the opportunity to enter the top 5 UFC middleweights.

The debut of Sharabutdin Magomedov, also known as Shara Bullet, in the UFC was eagerly awaited by many mixed martial arts fans throughout Russia. Firstly, the fighter has a very bright style, which eliminates the possibility of boring fights, and secondly, everyone was interested in how Shara would prove himself in the best promotion in the world, which entailed a significant raise. in the opposition.

In the debut, Shara faced the strong Brazilian Bruno Silva and showed all his pros and cons. The striking technique was up to par, Magomedov’s jaw was also good and he also showed that he could effectively use his elbows on the ground, which caused his opponent a lot of problems. The disadvantage was also quite obvious: defense against takedowns turned out to be a failure, despite the fact that Silva is not a fighter at all. Even UFC director Dana White chuckled: “Is this guy definitely from Dagestan? He needs to work on wrestling him.”

Following his victory over Silva, Chara immediately announced his desire to compete again before the end of the year, noting that he would not mind coming to Shanghai, where the tournament was scheduled for December 9. Magomedov did not attend this event, but he definitely caught the attention of other fighters. The first was the Polish Michal Oleksiychuk, who warned the Russian fighter and advised him “not to join the club of the greats.” Sharabutdin did not respond to this challenge and continued to wait for an opponent of higher status.

Here’s a look at Shara’s UFC debut:

Shara has broken into the UFC! How beautifully and dangerously Bullet fought: it was scary

Soon the Italian Marvin Vettori indicated his intentions to fight and mentioned Bullet: “Who will I fight next time? My hands itch. Khamzat Chimaev? Benjamin Netanyahu? One-eyed fighter Shara Bullet? Juan Furia?

Even though the challenge sounded fun, Shara was hooked, which made perfect sense. If Oleksiychuk is a fighter who is not even in the top 15, then Vettori is ranked fifth, and this could be a great opportunity to be at the top of the division.

“Marvin Vettori, I’m looking forward to sharing the cage with you, we can fill stadiums and give people bread and circuses. I do not doubt your ability to fight and spirit, I do not come from a music school either, I ask the organization to give me the opportunity to go out and demonstrate everything I am capable of doing,” Magomedov wrote on social networks.

Vettori reacted to this: “The pirate contacted me again. All I can say is that he accepted his challenge with open arms. Be careful with wishes, because sometimes they come true.”

Marvin Vettori

Photo: Chris Unger/Getty Images

It would seem that now everything is in the hands of the promotion management. But it’s important to understand why this is the right choice for Shara. On paper, it seems that the Russian fighter is not prepared for such a powerful increase in opposition. First of all, Vettori obtained exactly half of his victories in his professional career by submission, that is, this already gives an idea of ​​how dangerous it is to be on the ground with him. In the UFC, the Italian has already made 62 takedown attempts, and this is a big problem for Shara, because he was transferred even by a fighter with much weaker fighting experience. Skipping a Vettori translation could be a fatal mistake.

Secondly, Vettori cannot simply be eliminated. Marvin has a very strong jaw, is ready to take a blow from any opponent and loses exclusively by decisions. The same thing happened in the fight for the champion title with Israel Adesanya. And in his last fight with Jared Cannonier, he missed 241 significant punches, which is a record for a middleweight, but still survived the five rounds.

On paper, it looks like Vettori is the ultimate losing option for Schara. His style fits well with Bullet’s strengths and weaknesses, so it will be a great challenge. On the other hand, Sharabutdin is already being called by ratings fighters, this is a good sign. The only question is how he will fix his flaws. However, in essence, the Russian fighter will make a win-win bet: if he loses, he will simply take a longer route; If he wins, he will be a couple of fights away from a title shot. The only downside is that Vettori can reduce the hype around Bullet to nothing.

We just have to wait for a reaction from the UFC. If they are interested in Shara as a qualified fighter, then they will have no problem giving him a fight with Vettori. It’s all in Dana White’s hands.