After a jaw-dropping knockout victory at UFC 308 over Armen Petrosyan, Sharaputdin Magomedov wasted no time making his intentions known: he wants a shot at former champion Israel Adesanya. It might have been a wild call out from the self-proclaimed pirate, but given that his coach has put his weight behind this matchup for a February showdown in Saudi Arabia, things could really be cooking.
“We already began preparation for February 1st. We don’t know who the opponent will be, but the date is set. It’s going to be February 1st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia…It may be Israel Adesanya. There isn’t much more of a “WOW” out there.”
With Adesanya’s reputation and Magomedov’s recent knockout win fueling the hype, this could be one of the most thrilling matchups of the year.
The ultimate goal of any fighter is to have UFC gold wrapped around their waist. Shara ‘Bullet’ might be unranked right now but the way he’s mowing people down, it could be assumed that this might be the perfect time to give him a jumpstart.
View this post on Instagram
Some kids can just jump classes. If it works in real life, it should work in the UFC as well. If Magomedov beats Adesanya, it will be precisely what he needs to stake a claim at the big boys’ table.
Besides, Magomedov’s been chasing Adesanya since their kickboxing days in China, where he even fought and beat Adesanya’s training partner, Blood Diamond.
“I used to chase Israel when he fought kickboxing in China. Now that he’s in MMA, and now that I’m here too, I’m ready to capture what he’s had. It doesn’t matter where.”
All things considered, there are consequences to calling out THE Israel Adesanya. This is a legitimate great of the sport and despite his last couple of fights, is still a force to be reckoned with. Darth Vader got 90% scorched on Mustafar and still ruled a galaxy for the next 25 years.
“What he say f me for?”- Izzy memes ‘Bullet’ callout
Admittedly, Adesanya didn’t see this callout coming on Saturday night. In a reaction video on his YouTube channel, Adesanya couldn’t resist some humor, riffing on a couple of famous memes.
He started with a laugh, and said, “Keep my name out your f*cking mouth,” throwing back to Will Smith’s viral Oscars moment with Chris Rock.
But that wasn’t even it. Next, he went for the classic, “What the f*ck did I do? What he say f*ck me, for?”—a nod to 50 Cent’s famously baffled reaction when Floyd Mayweather called him out.
But make no mistake, this is an elite kickboxer, whose powers might have wained a bit but Magomedov is amateur compared to the people Izzy’s put out of business.
