UFC middleweight prospect Shara Magomedov is expecting to be back in action soon, and he might have netted himself a high-ranked opponent.
For the first time in his professional career, Magomedov is coming off a loss. The Dagestani suffered a setback at the UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia early last month, falling to defeat on the scorecards against welterweight contender Michael "Venom" Page.
The result stalled Magomedov's quick surge to prominence on MMA's biggest stage, which had included a memorable double spinning backfist knockout of Armen Petrosyan during a perfect 4-0 start to life in the UFC.
"Bullet" will look to return to that kind of performance in his sophomore fight of 2025, which he recently revealed is expected for the summer. With the UFC set to stage an event in Abu Dhabi on July 26, that appears likely to feature Magomedov, who is yet to enter the Octagon outside of the Middle East.
Among the desired options for his next fight is the #10-ranked Marvin Vettori, who has previously gone back and forth with Shara Magomedov regarding a potential fight.
Though a defeat would usually rule out a clash with ranked opposition, Magomedov might be in luck. "The Italian Dream" took to social media on Wednesday to provide a positive response to the Russian's callout.
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"Shara i accept the offer," Vettori wrote.
Vettori himself is licking his wounds after a defeat, having fallen short to Roman Dolidze in their headlining rematch at the Apex earlier this month.