With six consecutive wins in the featherweight division, the dynamic Russian was certainly in the mix but now at 34-years-old, we don’t know how great he could’ve truly been.

Rumors of Magomedsharipov making a return tend to circulate every so often with clips of him putting in work at the gym always turning a few heads.

In response to the latest video of the former contender, a rising prospect who was labelled a ‘future star’ put his hand up to welcome Magomedsharipov back to the UFC.

Kevin Vallejos offers to welcome Zabit Magomedsharipov back to the Octagon

At one point in time, Zabit Magomedsharipov was one of the most talked about rising contenders at 145-pounds before he started to string wins together over the likes of Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar.

A lot has changed since the Russian was working his way up the featherweight ladder with many contenders and prospects coming and going.

One of the latest additions to the division who has immediately emerged as one of the most exciting prospects on the roster is 23-year-old Kevin Vallejos.

The Argentinian suffered his one and only loss to Jean Silva on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023 before he returned to the show the following year.

After earning his contract in devastating fashion, Vallejos made his Octagon debut last month where he stopped Seung Woo Choi in the opening round at UFC Vegas 104 to announce his arrival.

Whilst Magomedsharipov would likely go straight in against the top featherweights in the division in the event that he did make his return, Vallejos was happy to shoot his shot after kicking off his UFC career with his 11th win by knockout.

“If Zabit comes back to UFC, I want to fight him first”

Zabit Magomedsharipov has previously stated he’s already made up his mind

Talk of Zabit Magomedsharipov making a return to the Octagon isn’t anything new for fight fans that have been watching since he was still an active fighter.

The former featherweight contender had an incredibly unique style with creative striking and submissions which made him a true enigma to watch.

Unfortunately, it appears that the UFC have tried to do everything they can to try and tempt Magomedsharipov out of an early retirement.

He previously made it clear to Red Corner MMA that there isn’t anything that the promotion could put on the table to make him change his mind.

“No, it’s not (about the money), they promised me a lot of things but that’s not the point, I simply made up my mind, I don’t want to prove anything to anybody. Come back, go through training camps, I have no desire to return and it’s not about money, whatever they offer me, I don’t think I’ll ever come back.”