Despite his untimely retirement from mixed martial arts competition, former featherweight contender, Zabit Magomedsharipov has been backed to pose a significant threat to current division champion, Alexander Volkanovski, by his compatriot and current lightweight kingpin, Islam Makhachev.
Magomedsharipov, who last competed back in November 2019, managed to move to 19-1 as a professional, landing a close, debated unanimous decision win over Calvin Kattar in a UFC Fight Night Moscow headliner over the course of three rounds.
In April 2021, Zabit Magomedsharipov was removed from the official UFC rankings due to inactivity, with the then-number-three ranked contender suffering from immune system health issues, forcing his sidelining.