Shara Magomedov sends chilling message to Israel Adesanya as 'Bullet' seeks to settle decade-old hunt
Shara Magomedov may find himself in the middleweight division's top 15 rankings following UFC 308. He secured a $50,000 performance bonus after knocking out Armen Petrosyan in sensational fashion, landing a double-spinning backfist knock out.
Magomedov is known for his slick striking skillset, particularly his wide arsenal of leg kicks from his days as a Muay Thai fighter. Following his knockout win over Petrosyan, the Dagestani fighter took to calling out Israel Adesanya.
According to 'Shara Bullet', he has been pursuing a matchup with Adesanya since the former champion's time as a kickboxer, which spanned from 2010 to 2017. The undefeated middleweight contender was interviewed by Full Send MMA after his win, where he said:
"I'm the best striker in the division. Israel Adesanya I will smash you. I'm coming for you, I'll beat you. The pirate is here! The pirate captured you."
He continued:
"I've been trying to get this guy for a long time. I've already beaten his sparring partner, I was trying to fight him in kickboxing in China when he was in China. He got away there, so now I've been chasing him here. The only way he can get away now is if he quits or retires. Other than that I will find him." [Translated from Russian to English]
Catch Shara Magomedov's message to Israel Adesanya below (0:15):
Shara Magomedov reacts to Joe Rogan missing his spinning backfist knockout win
Shara Magomedov secured an unbelievable spinning backfist knockout win over fellow kickboxer-turned-MMA fighter Armen Petrosyan at UFC 308.
The unique finish had cage-side commentator Paul Felder needing a replay to fully understand what happened, but the man Felder replaced on the commentary desk, Joe Rogan, missed the knockout entirely.
Rogan currently only commentates on UFC pay-per-view events held in the United States, and thus did not attend UFC 308 held in Abu Dhabi. Instead, he held a watch party alongside Eddie Bravo, Bryan Callen and Brendan Schaub on the Joe Rogan Experience.
During the Dagestani's fight, Rogan was turned away from the television when Magomedov landed the knockout punch.
Watch Joe Rogan miss Shara Magomedov's knockout below (29:30):
'Shara Bullet' was informed of Rogan's miss during his interview with Full Send MMA, and he said:
"Thank you Joe Rogan for watching the fight. Next time I'll try to do it just for him, the same thing." [1:35-11:44 in Shara Magomedov's aforementioned interview]