Rising middleweight contender Shara Magomedov suffered the first loss of his career in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
On Saturday night, the UFC’s return to Riyadh boasted a co-main event that would pit two of the most exciting strikers in the sport against one another.
The undefeated Shara ‘Bullet’ welcomed Michael ‘Venom’ Page to 185-pounds in what many expected to be a technical battle and though that did happen, the fight wasn’t overly competitive.
In the end, it was a dominant win for ‘MVP’ who was able to keep his opponent guessing with his incredibly unique and awkward striking style which remains one of the most difficult puzzles to solve in MMA.
Magomedov reflected on the first defeat of his career in a social media post after the fight where he explained that he came into the fight with a “nightmarish health condition”.
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Michael ‘Venom’ Page says Shara Magomedov shouldn’t have said anything
Michael ‘Venom’ Page was certainly the more experienced of the two men involved in the co-main event on February 1.
Not only has he had 10 more pro fights than Magomedov, he knows what it is like to be a fighter that everyone is talking about and to come through difficult moments and setbacks.
Page gave his thoughts on the contest during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on the Monday after he secured his second win inside the Octagon.
The 37-year-old was somewhat critical of the way that his opponent had responded to the loss by saying that he was compromised going into the bout rather than keeping this information to himself.
“For me, if I was to give [Shara Bullet] any advice moving forward… If you accept the fight knowing that you have had [an injury] prior to the fight, then the result is the result. If you win, you can say what you want.
“If you lose, you know, just keep it to yourself. He could be completely factual, but it just comes across wrong, comes across as an excuse… That would be my only advice for him.”
What’s next for Shara Magomedov?
Michael ‘Venom’ Page now has a lot of different options on the table but for Shara Magomedov, it’s back to the drawing board after having his four-fight win streak in the UFC come to an end.
This defeat has also seen him fall out of the top 15 rankings at 185-pounds, being replaced by Bo Nickal with Michel Pereira moving up two spots in the latest update.
Whilst ‘Bullet’ is always going to be a draw on any card that he’s on because of his fighting style and highlight reel, stepping out of the spotlight for a while might not be the worst thing for him.
There’s certainly no shame in being beaten on the feet by ‘MVP’ but there was a lack of a plan B on Saturday night so pumping the brakes ever so slightly could allow him to make some neccesary adjustments after a blistering start to his UFC career.
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