Shara Bullet Shares How UFC Legend Michael Bisping Shaped His Career, Creating a ‘Wholesome MMA Moment’

Professional mixed martial artists need all their senses dialed to 11 if they have to even survive in the sport. So it’s a remarkable achievement that a one-eyed man has won a world title at the UFC. But do you know what would be even more impressive? There’s a good chance it could happen again in a couple of years, courtesy of Sharaputdin Magomedov. The undefeated fighter, of course, credits a lot of his success to the first man to do it, Michael Bisping.

Early in his career, Magomedov suffered a severe eye injury during a routine training session, requiring multiple surgeries. Unfortunately, his condition continued to worsen, and doctors were unsure of what the future held for him. But Magomedov found motivation in Bisping, who at the time had to hide his injury just in order to compete. He would, of course, go on to defeat Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 to win the middleweight title. 

Almost a decade after that historic night, Shara ‘Bullet’ met Bisping and told him all about how his story inspired him to continue despite the dread of a potentially career-ending injury. 

“I thought that with my condition, I was never going to be allowed to do that. And that’s when I started following you and I saw that you were also having issues with your eyes but weren’t telling anybody and I was doing the same thing. “

 Shara then admitted he wanted to talk to Bisping and get some advice but at the time he didn’t know any English. So he couldn’t talk to him or write to him. 

Bisping had suffered a detached retina in his right eye during a fight with Vitor Belfort in January 2013. This injury left him legally blind in that eye. Despite doctors advising him to retire, Bisping continued his MMA career, retiring as a legend of the sport. Who would have thought his relentless pursuit of excellence would not only make him a champion but inspire a fighter from another generation?

Speaking of greatness, it seems every one of Shara’s childhood dreams is coming true. After having a heart-to-heart with Bisping, he met Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.

Shara jokes around with CR7

Every soccer fan who watched the sport in the 2000s and 2010s grew up idolizing Cristiano Ronaldo. Sure, some of them might have preferred Lionel Messi but there’s no denying most of us would have given an arm to just hang out with CR7. Fortunately, Shara didn’t have to do as much.

Set to face Michael ‘Venom’ Page in a highly anticipated match, Shara took a break from training to visit the home of Ronaldo’s soccer team, Al-Nassr FC.

Ronaldo, a huge fight fan and friend of Francis Ngannou, met with him, and the two shared a laugh as they immediately dropped into fight stances. 

The footage, shared by Al-Nassr Twitter, shows the pair joking around with some fake punches and kicks. The 41-second video ended with Ronaldo signing shirts for Magomedov, who got the VIP football tour before heading back to focus on his co-main event fight on Sunday.