Highly-touted middleweight contender Shara Magomedov takes an enormous amount of inspiration from Michael Bisping’s decorated career ahead of his UFC 308 showdown.
The 30-year-old extended his flawless MMA record to 14-0 after securing a unanimous decision victory over Michal Oleksiejczuk at a UFC Fight Night event in August.
But now, the stage is set for ‘Bullet’ to open the main card – headlined by Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway – this Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
Ahead of his clash with Armen Petrosyan, though, Shara Magomedov has revealed the incredible impact that UFC legend Michael Bisping has had on his career.
Michael Bisping’s eye injury story resonates with Shara Magomedov
Bisping famously suffered an eye injury back in 2013, but continued to progress through the middleweight rankings before becoming the first British UFC champion.
A head kick from MMA legend Vitor Belfort is what ultimately caused the permanent damage to Bisping’s eye, with the fan-favorite then being forced to resume his career with a handicap.
Still, the Briton was able to defeat Brazilian MMA icon Anderson Silva before claiming the UFC middleweight strap with an emphatic first-round stoppage over Luke Rockhold.
And so, Magomedov, who has been compelled to battle through a similar injury since 2016, takes a high degree of motivation from Bisping’s success.
“When it comes to Bisping, yes, he is a motivation because he’s somebody who has went down this path already,” Magomedov said at Wednesday’s UFC 308 media day, streamed by MMA Junkie among other outlets.
“He’s laid down the path and he set an example for me, so it’s much easier to follow somebody’s path as opposed to wander around in the dark.
“I think the way he is a motivator for me and for other people is he said that everything is possible.”
Shara Magomedov calls out Nick Diaz ahead of UFC 308
Following his victory over Oleksiejczuk, Magomedov called out UFC veteran Nick Diaz for a striker vs striker clash in October.
Instead, Diaz is returning to the octagon for the first time in over three years at UFC 310 on December 7, taking on welterweight contender Vicente Luque.
And yet, despite his illustrious career, several MMA aficionados have opined that the 41-year-old should not be competing.
So now, with Magomedov on an upwards trajectory towards stardom, perhaps he would be better off setting his sights on an opponent who could bolster his ranking.