UFC News: Zabit Is 'Much Better Version of Bruce Lee,' Says Ali Abdelaziz.
What's the story?
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Ali Abdelaziz said UFC rising star Zabit Magomedsharipov is already better than martial arts legend Bruce Lee.
He also stated that the Russian fighters are coming to take over UFC and called out Yair Rodriguez.
In case you didn't know...
Zabit got a decision (unanimous) victory against Kyle Bochniak in UFC 223. The bout was declared 'Fight of the Night'.
He is a training partner of Khabib Nurmagomedov and is undefeated inside UFC and has only one defeat in his 15 fight career.
The heart of the matter
Ali explained that Bruce Lee is a Legend but Zabit is better than him. He added that Zabit is 'Bruce Lee on Steriods' and Bruce Lee cannot do the stuff he does.
Furthermore, Ali emphasized that Zabit can beat Brian Ortega, Max Holloway or anybody in the division. he added that Zabit fought with a broken thumb and won the match.
He ended the interview by calling out Yair Rodriguez to fight Zabit in Russia and said that 'whoever fighting Zabit next is getting his ass whopped'.
Ali has managed many world champion like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Fabricio Werdum, Frankie Edgar.
What's next?
Zabit's manager has called out Rodriguez, but his team doesn't seem excited in challenging Zabit at this time.
Rodríguez faced Frankie Edgar at UFC 211and lost the fight via TKO due to doctor stoppage.
Unfortunately, we do not have Bruce Lee here to matchup against Zabit, and Rodríguez is not ready to fight him.
UFC Russia is fast approaching, Hope Dana White find someone who is willing to fight this Dagestani phenom in Russia.
Author's take
Ali's statements may sound like blasphemy for many hardcore Bruce Lee fans but martial arts has evolved way past Bruce Lee's era.
If we can bring prime Bruce Lee back and equip him with all new weaponry in MMA, In all Odds, he may finish any fighter before him.
But unfortunately, we do not have an option to do that nor do we have the required metrics to predict who may win in such a matchup.
And speaking about Holloway and Ortega, these are the fighters at the top of the food chain with some world-class skills and great heart.
And Zabit hasn't fought any top ten featherweight contenders yet. So matching Zabit against a legend like Bruce Lee when he is yet to match his skills against many greats in the division is overkill.