Shara Bullet Shoots for Stars With Callout of Israel Adesanya

Sharabutdin Magomedov has waded around in the shallow end of the UFC for a few fights. He’s ready to go into the deep end with the sharks after knocking out Armen Petrosyan at UFC 308. It will be interesting to see how the next batch of MMAfighting latest news is impacted by Magomedov challenging former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to a fight.

Adesanya is going through a difficult period in his career. While Adesanya is still ranked second at middleweight, Adesanya has lost three of his past four fights. During Adesanya’s last two bouts, against Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland, the New Zealand-based striker hasn’t appeared to have the same crispness to his attack.

Is age finally catching up with Adesanya, who is now 35 and has been in many wars with kickboxing and MMA? It would be hard to imagine that Magomedov would be an opponent Adesanya is interested in fighting. Magomedov is ranked No. 14 at middleweight and it would be a major step down for the former champion to take the fight.

Why Does Magomedov Want the Fight?

From Magomedov’s perspective, there are many reasons to make this fight happen. Magomedov is undefeated thus far in his career, piling up a record of 15-0 with 12 knockout victories. While MMA breaking news will show that Magomedov hasn’t fought much top-shelf competition yet, he has an exciting style.

Magomedov typically uses wild attacks. He knocked out Petrosyan by throwing two spinning back fists. Magomedov has asked for the matchup with Adesanya publicly because both men prefer to stand and strike.Magomedov also has experience fighting in Muay Thai and kickboxing. With Adesanya also being well-versed in kickboxing, Magomedov could present an interesting challenge.

Does Magomedov Have the Juice?

Calling out a top-ranked fighter usually requires a fighter to have shown they deserve such an opportunity. In Magomedov’s case, he may need one more fight against a ranked fighter before truly being looked at as a top-five ranked fighter. That’s not to say that Shara Bullet isn’t a good fighter.

Magomedov, 30, is an excellent striker. However, Magomedov has also been caught admiring his own work in the past and not necessarily looking for a finish. Anyone who pays attention to MMA fights now already knows if Magomedov is an excellent striker.

However, Magomedov’s power doesn’t necessarily translate to knocking out guys at the top of the division. While Magomedov has stopped two of his four UFC opponents before the bell, he needed something spectacular to ground Stylebender.

Middleweight Title Picture is Getting Cloudy

Adesanya may not want to take the risk of fighting someone lower in the rankings. Barring injury, Sean Strickland is next in line to fight for the belt. While Strickland doesn’t have the most attractive style either, it’s hard to say the No. 1 contender doesn’t deserve the best chance to win the belt.

Khamzhat Chimaev has established himself as the fighter who is likely next in line after Strickland. Chimaev is undefeated and has made a career out of ending fights early. The MMA latest updates show that Chimaev needs to prove he can reliably compete before giving him too much credit.

Chimaev dominated Robert Whittaker last time out, locking up a brutal first-round submission. In Chimaev’s previous fight before that one, he was able to lock up a decision win over former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

The problem with Chimaev is he is hard to rely on. Injuries and illness have forced him out of four bouts in the UFC. Barring an injury to one of the top five fighters, it’s hard to see Magomedov fighting anyone outside of the top five.

There are plenty of other interesting veteran contenders for Magomedov to attempt to convince UFC CEO Dana White to give him a shot at a top fighter. Jared Cannonier, Marvin Vettori and Brendan Allen all have similar profiles.

They are all solid fighters, ranked in the top 15 in the world, but they likely won’t see a title shot unless they build serious momentum.

Should Pride be a Factor?

There have been times when I’ve had the wrong opinion about Adesanya. He is still a capable striker who is capable of using his length to keep dangerous punches at bay. During Adesanya’s last fight, he was competitive with du Plessis for four rounds before bowing out. What made Adesanya’s loss to du Plessis so bizarre was Adesanya’s approach to handling the wrestlers he faced.

During his MMA career, Adesanya was seldom taken down, let alone controlled for long. Adesanya likely deserves a more prestigious fight than Magomedov can offer. Adesanya was a more active fighter than most other champions.

However, while Adesanya successfully defended the middleweight belt five times, there are signs that people think he is on the decline.

What to Expect Next?

Adesanya took nearly a year off between his losses to Strickland and du Plessis. There was some talk that maybe he would retire. But Adesanya has confidently said that he has no desire to hang up his gloves anytime soon.

There are likely many fighters who would like to make their name by beating up on the former champion. But Adesanya will likely choose his dates more carefully moving forward. Adesanya won’t want to risk fighting Shara Bullet at this time.

If Magomedov can string together more victories, there may be a chance that Adesanya would consider it. But at this time, Adesanya believes he can still be champion and doesn’t want to worry about gimmick fights. Fan interest will draw Adesanya back to the cage.

But I don’t think he is willing to step down. Adesanya’s confidence is still high that he could eventually be champion again. That may never happen. But Adesanya wants to try.Adesanay’s past performance shows he deserves more opportunities for legacy fights.

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By Dean McHugh.