How Shara Magomedov Gained Notoriety
Making a splash in the vast ocean of mixed martial arts can be a challenge for today’s up-and-coming fighters. Attempting to stand out from the crowd in a UFC roster bursting at the seems with signings from Dana White’s Contender Series, The Ultimate Fighter and Road To UFC can seem like a gargantuan task, and only a select few manage to gain large amounts of traction with the fanbase.
Shara Magomedov (15-0) is one fighter who seems to have stumbled upon that magic formula. “Bullet” has garnered more headlines than most during his 14-month tenure in the world’s leading promotion. The Russian possesses the right blend of elements that can help a fighter grab the attention of MMA fans.
His unbeaten record, his exciting striking-heavy fighting style, and his unique appearance all helped to mark the middleweight’s card as “one to watch” when he made his debut inside the Octagon in October of 2023.
Magomedov’s Fascinating Origins
Not only does Magomedov, who trains out of the famed Gor MMA in Moscow, stand out due to his Pirate-like appearance, the 30-year-old has also had one of the more interesting roads to the top of the sport.
“In Russia, Shara Bullet was a very well-known fighter even before he entered the UFC” explains Denis Geiko of Red Corner MMA, Russia’s leading English language MMA news outlet.
“He made himself famous through a lot of Russian MMA leagues. YouTube MMA, also known here as ‘Pop MMA’ which is a term for the YouTube leagues here which are full of semi-professional fighters who make a lot of noise with those crazy press conferences which sometimes go viral.
“Shara had a good number of fights in those leagues and he became well-known within that community. Later on when he began fighting in major organisations he brought those fans along with him”.
Magomedov seemed to hit the ground running on the PR front from the moment he signed with the UFC. Geiko attributes this to “Bullet” already being somewhat of a known quantity before ever signing a contract with the world leader.
“When he became bigger and signed with the UFC” says Geiko, “those fans followed him so he had a huge fanbase as soon as he hit the big time, some fans who maybe weren’t necessarily following the UFC beforehand. With such a big following he was obviously catching a lot of attention due to his unique appearance and his unique fighting style and his backstory.
“Even before he made his debut inside the Octagon we already had a short documentary about Shara on our Red Corner YouTube channel. All of this is why he was so quick to gain popularity because he already had such a fanbase and already had the media’s attention”.
Magomedov has won all four of his appearances inside the Octagon so far, the highlight being a knockout-of-the-year contender in his last outing against Armen Petrosyan at UFC 308.
While his entertaining fighting style is certainly helping to grow his profile as an exciting talent in the middleweight division, his willingness to interact with both the fans and the media is also playing it’s part.
“A lot of Russian journalists were following him, doing interviews and he’s very, very friendly with the media” explains Geiko. “He spends time speaking with everybody, makes sure everyone gets their soundbites. He would never really say “no” to anybody.
“Maybe now that’s going to be different because he’s drawing so much attention and so many people requesting interviews but he’s the sort of fighter who really cares about the media, really cares about the fans and he gives everybody his time. This has been a big reason why he’s captured the imagination along with his unorthodox fighting style, unorthodox appearance and his interesting journey”.
Just The Beginning
Magomedov’s stunning victory over Petrosyan in October helped him to break into the UFC’s middleweight rankings. With a massive co-main event against former Bellator contender Michael “Venom” Page lined up for Febrauary’s UFC event in Saudi Arabia, it seems the UFC matchmakers like the idea of being the Shara Bullet business, and should the Russian manage to add the name of “MVP” to his list of conquests, he may find himself fielding offers for fights against some of the elite names at 185 lbs.
“I think the more famous he becomes, the more fans are going to want to know more about him” says Geiko. “For us journalists and the hardcore fans who follow every single event, we already know all about Shara, but the casual fans who maybe just watch the big pay-per-view events he’s just beginning to appear.
“I think if he gets a few more fights on big PPV events or if he fights in the United States he’s going to become even bigger. He can be one of the major stars in the world of MMA. He likes to fight often, he doesn’t cut a lot of weight and he’s a kickboxer, which the UFC seems to really like nowadays. That’s what the fans love to see. They want to watch entertaining fights and entertaining fighters and I think he fits that role perfectly”.
Shara Magomedov faces Michael “Venom” Page in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Imavov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 1st.
