After racking up his second win in the UFC, undefeated Russian prospect, Sharaputdin Magomedov is now seeking the tutelage of AKA founder and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach Javier Mendez. Despite facing some resistance from his opponent, Antonio Trocoli, Shara ‘Bullet’ delivered on the hype. So much so that his performance got the attention of Mendez.
Following the Russian’s R3 KO, as a token of approval, the veteran coach took things to Instagram and shared the post by Red Corner MMA where Magomedov revealed his desire to seek the guidance of Mendez.
Javier Mendez to train Shara 'Bullet?' pic.twitter.com/Dsbuxe14WO
— THE UFCGUY (@the_ufcguy) June 25, 2024
Earlier, Magomedov was seen alongside Denis Geiko on Red Corner MMA, where he praised Mendez for his calm and humble demeanor.
Sharing his thoughts of the same Moagomedov said,
“To be honest, Javier is a very decent and honorable man. A great person to be around. He is such a down-to-earth man. Not arrogant at all, he is great. Hopefully, someday I will have the privilege to train with him. He’s still there in Dubai. I follow him on Social Media.”
Magomedov has improved his takedown defense considerably considering his first bout against Bruno Silva but there’s still room for improvement. Saturday’s bout clearly exposed his vulnerability when Trocoli tried to get him down to the mat.
If it wasn’t for that menacing cage grab, the fight would’ve had a different outcome.Magomedov needs to improve his ground game and who better to help him do it?
For the uninitiated, Mendez coached Daniel Cormier, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and is now with Islam Makhachev. That’s 3 world champions, one of them a double champion, another never lost a fight and the third one might just surpass them all.
And now that Shara ‘Bullet’ has responded to Bo Nickal’s challenge head-on, he’s going to need all the help he can get.
Sharaputdin Magomedov vs. Bo Nickal
Magomedov’s performance was the star attraction in Riyadh on Saturday after the Dagestani TKO’d his opponent, taking home Dana White’s $50k bonus along with his second W.
Following the win, Shara ‘Bullet’ responded to fellow middleweight and undefeated American, Bo Nickal’s callout, taking the challenge like a champ. He said,
“Bo Nickal, interesting fight, interesting opponent. He has good wrestling. Wrestling now, for me, no problem. I’m from Dagestan, you know, brother, Russian. Russian men are icemen. No problem. Wrestling, takedowns, no problem. Dangerous damage, elbow, knee. Let’s go.”
Despite his inexperience -having just two bouts- and an okay wrestling game, Magomedov doesn’t seem fazed in any manner. Now, fingers crossed if the UFC gives it a green signal then fans have got a proper fight on our hands – a slick striker against a powerhouse wrestler with both putting their reputation on the line.
