Zabit Magomedsharipov announces he is pursuing a career in medicine after reports of him renouncing violence surface

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Zabit Magomedsharipov announces pursuit of a career in the medical field [Photo credit: @zabit_magomedsharipov on Instagram]

After thriving in a life of violence, Zabit Magomedsharipov apparently wants to spend the next chapter of his career healing people instead of hurting them.

Once a highly touted featherweight prospect who many believe could be a future champion, Magomedsharipov was last seen in action in November 2019 before injuries and illness derailed his career.

However, Ariel Helwani recently reported that there's a completely different reason why the promising Dagestani never bothered to return to the octagon. According to the MMA reporter, Magomedsharipov's religious values compelled him to turn away from violence altogether.

On an episode of The MMA Hour, Helwani said:

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"From what I was told, he had almost like this moral religious dilemma that he was dealing with. He's very religious and I think he reached a point where he just didn't wanna do it anymore. Now, his brother fights and he corners his brother, which I think is very interesting, but obviously everyone is different."

Helwani's report appears to have been validated by Magomedsharipov's latest Instagram post. The rising star revealed that he's pursuing a career in medicine, indicating the end of his prize-fighting exploits.

Check out Zabit Magomedsharipov's post below:

This comes after Magomedsharipov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, claimed in February that he's still training and has been participating in USADA-sanctioned programs.

The 31-year-old was previously the No.3-ranked featherweight in the world. However, he has since been taken out of the rankings due to his extensive inactivity in the cage.

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Alexander Volkanovski comments on Zabit Magomedsharipov's potential

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Had Zabit Magomedsharipov carried on with his MMA journey, a meeting with current featherweight titleholder Alexander Volkanovski appeared to be inevitable. With the new developments, however, that matchup will go down as another 'what if' in the UFC.

Appearing as a guest on The MMA Hour, Volkanovski discussed Magomedsharipov's potential with Ariel Helwani. The No.2-ranked UFC pound-for-pound fighter said:

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"He was very very well-rounded. He's a great fighter. Obviously, he just had that issue, that gas tank issue, which can be dealt with. Like right now, for all the time he's had off, was him trying to improve that. You know what I mean?"

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below:

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