Shara Magomedov’s insane knockout on Saturday night had UFC fans in hysterics, but two of the sport’s biggest names weren’t so sure.
The unbeaten middleweight landed an unprecedented double spinning backfist to stop Armen Petrosyan at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, marking his third victory in an impressive fourth octagon outing. He has been pushing for activity this year, fighting three times since a knockout win in Riyadh at the end of June.
Now, Magomedov is keen to climb up the ranks quickly, and wants a much bigger name next time out. After controversially calling for Nick Diaz after his last win in August, he made a more tactical push for Israel Adesanya this time around.
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Shara Magomedov lands vicious and unprecedented KO at UFC 308
In the main card opener at UFC 308, Shara Magomedov appeared to be struggling through two rounds with Armen Petrosyan, who was keen to get back in the win column after his last outing. In the early exchanges, it appeared that Petrosyan might be on his way to an upset as he rocked the Russian.
But Magomedov recovered, and managed to see out the round. Leg kicks were a key part of both men’s games, with Shara ‘Bullet’ utilizing them to his advantage as he had in his previous UFC victories over the past few months.
And as the second round ticked towards a close, Magomedov threw a spinning backfist that stunned Petrosyan. Within a split second, he landed another backfist by spinning the opposite way, leaving his opponent unconscious.
After his victory, he pushed for a fight with Israel Adesanya, the two-time former champion who just lost his latest effort at gold to Dricus Du Plessis. “I’m happy, very happy. Listen to me, I am the best striker in this division, I will smash Israel Adesanya,” Magomedov claimed in his Octagon interview.
Joe Rogan missed Shara Magomedov’s stunning UFC 308 KO
While fans were losing their minds on social media, Joe Rogan was hosting a Fight Companion at his Austin compound to watch the fight. He commentates on all American pay-per-views, but hasn’t covered an international event or fight night in years, instead opting to stream his reactions with pals from home.
Joined by comedians Bryan Callen and Brendan Schaub as well as jiu-jitsu supremo Eddie Bravo, Rogan was in the midst of a rant about his own former fighting career when Magomedov landed the finish. He had his back turned to screen as he spoke of having been dropped, before his co-hosts reacted loudly.
He immediately turned around, and as Bravo raved about what he had seen Rogan could be heard saying “Aw man, I missed the whole thing.” He later added in a moment of levity, but with a disappointed twinge to his voice: “Goddamn, I talk too much.”
Conor McGregor unimpressed with Shara Magomedov’s performance at UFC 308
Conor McGregor was a keen observer on the night as well, watching the fights from his luxury yacht as he engaged in another massive money bet. He didn’t have any stakes in the Magomedov fight, but placed $500,000 on the main and co-main events.
However, the results didn’t pan out for the Irishman who backed KO victories for Max Holloway and Robert Whittaker against Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev respectively. He appeared unfazed by the loss, reiterating his catchphrase ‘the rich get richer’ after the fact.
It was his second bet of that amount that went against him in seven days after backing Renan Ferreira to beat Francis Ngannou last weekend. He believed the PFL Super Fights event would end in a KO, which it did, but picked the wrong heavyweight.
As for Magomedov, he appeared to be unimpressed with the Russian, who moved to 15-0 with his victory. He tweeted and almost nearly immediately deleted a message where he branded the Russian with the juvenile nickname ‘Shart Bullets’.
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